\>« 


^M  Of  PRINCf^ 


^OtOfilCAL  Stt*^*^ 


THE    LIFE 


4 


OF 


|JESUS,  THE  CHKIST. 

BY 

>  HENRY   WAED    BEECHER. 


"  But  when  the  fiikiess  of  the  time  was  come,  God  sent  forth  his  Son, 
made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under 
the  law."  — Gal.  iv.  4,  5. 


NEW   YORK: 
J.    B.    FORD    AND    COMPANY. 

!  EDINBURGH  AND  LONDON:   THOMAS  NELSON  &  SONS. 

\  \AU  rights  reserved.] 

\ 


« 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S71, 

BY   J.    D.    FORD   AND   COMPANY, 

in  the  OfiSce  of  ttie  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


10'/  -' 


•         .    •*.  • 


Univi'rsity  Press  :  Welch,  Bicelow,  &  Co., 
Cambridge. 


PREFACE. 


I  HAVE  undertaken  to  write  a  Life  of  Jesus,  the 
Christ,  in  the  hope  of  inspiring  a  deeper  interest  in 
the  noble  Personage  of  whom  those  matchless  his- 
t  nes,  the  Gospels  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and 
John,  are  the  chief  authentic  memorials.  I  have  en- 
dear -ed  to  present  scenes  that  occurred  two  thousand 
years  ago  as  they  would  appear  to  modern  eyes  if 
the  events  had  taken  place  in  our  day. 

The  Lives  of  Christ  which  have  appeared  of  late 
years  have  naturally  partaken  largely  of  the  dialectic 
and  critical  spirit.  They  have  either  attacked  or  de- 
fended. The  Gospel,  like  a  city  of  four  gates,  has 
been  taken  and  retaken  by  alternate  parties,  or  held 
in  part  by  opposing  hosts,  while  on  every  side  the 
marks  of  siege  and  defence  cover  the  ground.  This 
may  be  unfortunate,  but  it  is  necessary.  As  long  as 
great  earning  and  acute  criticism  are  brought  to  assail 
the  text  of  the  Gospels,  their  historic  authenticity,  the 
truth  of  their  contents,  and  the  ethical  nature  of  their 
teachings,  so  long  must  great  learning  and  sound  phi- 
losophy be  brought  to  the  defence  of  those  precious 
documents. 


iv  PREFACE. 

But  such  controversial  Lives  of  Christ  are  not  the 
best  for  general  reading.  While  they  may  lead 
scholars  from  doubt  to  certainty,  they  are  likely  to 
lead  plain  people  from  certainty  into  doubt,  and  to 
leave  them  there.  I  have  therefore  studiously  avoid- 
ed a  polemic  spirit,  seeking  to  produce  conviction 
without  controversy. 

Joubert  ^  finely  says :  "  State  truths  of  sentiment, 
and  do  not  try  to  prove  them.  There  is  danger  in 
such  proofs ;  for  in  arguing  it  is  necessary  to  treat 
that  which  is  in  question  as  something  problematic ; 
now  that  which  we  accustom  ourselves  to  treat  as 
problematic  ends  by  appearing  to  us  as  really  doubt- 
ful. In  things  that  are  visible  and  palpable,  never 
prove  what  is  believed  already ;  in  things  that  are 
certain  and  mysterious,  —  mysterious  by  their  great- 
ness and  by  their  nature,  —  make  people  believe  them, 
and  do  not  prove  them ;  in  things  that  are  matters  of 
practice  and  duty,  command,  and  do  not  explain. 
*  Fear  God '  has  made  many  men  pious ;  the  proofs  of 
the  existence  of  God  have  made  many  men  atheists. 
From  the  defiance  sjDrings  the  attack;  the  advocate 
begets  in  his  hearer  a  wish  to  pick  holes ;  and  men 
are  almost  always  led  on  from  a  desire  to  contradict 
the  doctor  to  the  desire  to  contradict  the  doctrine. 
Make  Truth  lovely,  and  do  not  try  to  arm  her." 

The  history  of  the  text,   the   authenticity  of  the 

^  As  quoted  by  Matthew  Arnold,  Essays  in  Criticism,  p.  234  (London 
ed.),  1865. 


PREFACE.  Y 

several  narratives,  the  many  philosophical  questions 
that  must  arise  in  such  a  field,  I  have  not  formally  dis- 
cussed ;  still  less  have  I  paused  to  dispute  and  answer 
the  thousands  of  objections  which  swarm  around  the 
narrative  in  the  books  of  the  sceptical  school  of  criti- 
cism. Such  a  labor,  while  very  important,  would  con- 
stitute a  work  quite  distinct  from  that  which  I  have 
proposed,  and  would  infuse  into  the  discussion  a  con- 
troversial element  which  I  have  especially  sought  to 
avoid,  as  inconsistent  with  the  moral  ends  which  I  had 
in  view. 

I  have  however  attentively  considered  whatever 
has  been  said,  on  every  side,  in  the  works  of  critical 
objectors,  and  have  endeavored  as  far  as  possible  so 
to  state  the  facts  as  to  take  away  the  grounds  from 
which  the  objections  w^ere  aimed. 

"Writing  in  full  S3anpathy  with  the  Gospels  as  au- 
thentic historical  documents,  and  with  the  nature  and 
teachings  of  the  great  Personage  whom  they  describe, 
it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  I  have  not  attempt- 
ed to  show  the  world  what  Matthew  and  John  ought 
to  have  heard  and  to  have  seen,  but  did  not;  nor 
what  things  they  did  not  see  or  hear,  but  in  their 
simplicity  believed  that  they  did.  In  short,  I  have 
not  invented  a  Life  of  Jesus  to  suit  the  critical  phi- 
losophy of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  Jesus  of  the  four  Evano-elists  for  wellnio-h  two 

O  D 

thousand  years  has  exerted  a  jDOwerful  influence  upon 
the  heart,  the  understanding,  and  the  imagination  of 


Vi  PREFACE. 

mankind.  It  is  that  Jesus,  and  not  a  modern  substitute, 
whom  I  have  sought  to  depict,  in  his  life,  his  social  re- 
lations, his  disposition,  his  deeds  and  doctrines. 

This  work  has  been  delayed  far  beyond  the  expec- 
,  tation  of  the  pubhshers,  without  fault  of  theirs,  but 
simply  because,  with  the  other  duties  incumbent  upon 
me,  I  could  not  make  haste  faster  than  I  have.  Even 
after  so  long  a  delay  the  first  Part  only  is  ready  to 
go  forth ;  and  for  the  second  I  am  obliged  to  solicit 
the  patience  of  my  readers.  But  I  aim  to  complete 
it  within  the  year. 

The  order  of  time  in  the  four  Evangelists  has 
always  been  a  perplexity  to  harmonists,  and  it  seems 
likely  never  to  be  less.  But  this  is  more  especially 
characteristic  of  details  whose  value  is  little  affected 
by  the  question  of  chronological  order,  than  of  the 
great  facts  of  the  life  of  Jesus. 

I  have  followed,  though  not  without  variations,  the 
order  given  by  Ellicott,^  and  especially  Andrews.^ 
But  a  recent  "  Gospel  History  Consolidated,"  pub- 
lished in  London  by  Bagster,^  so  generally  accords 
with  these  that  I  have  made  it  the  working  basis; 
and,  instead  of  cumbering  the  margin  with  references 
to  the  passages  under  treatment,  have  preferred  to 
reproduce  at  the  end  of  this  volume  a  corresponding 
portion  of  the  text  of  the  "  Gospels  Consolidated,"  by 

*  nistorkal  Lectures  on  the  Life  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.    C.  J.  EUicott. 

*  77/e  Life  of  Our  Lord  upon  Earth.     Samuel  J.  Andrews. 

*  Imported  and  sold  in  the  United  States  by  John  Wiley  and  Son,  New 
York. 


PREFACE.  yii 

a  reference  to  which,  chapter  by  chapter,  those  who 
wish  to  do  so  will  find  the  groundwork  on  which  this 
Life  is  founded. 

Although  the  general  arrangement  of  the  "  Gos- 
pels Consolidated  "  has  been  followed/  it  will  be  seen 
that  I  have  frequently  deviated  from  it  in  minor  mat- 
ters. For  example,  believing  that  the  reports  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  as  given  in  Matthew  and  in 
Luke,  are  but  two  separate  accounts  of  the  one  dis- 
course, I  have  not  treated  Luke's  account  as  the  rec- 
ord of  a  second  delivery  of  the  same  matter,  as  is 
sometimes  done.  The  two  narrations  of  the  discourse 
and  uproar  at  Nazareth  I  have  regarded  as  referring 
to  but  a  single  transaction,  while  the  "  Gospels  Con- 
sohdated"  treats  them  as  separate  events.  But  such 
differences  in  mere  arrangement  are  inevitable,  and 
not  important.  No  two  harmonists  ever  did  agree  in 
all  particulars,  and  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  any  two 
ever  will.  The  very  structure  of  the  Gospels  makes 
it  wellnigh  impossible.  They  are  not  like  the  "  dis- 
sected maps,"  or  pictures,  whose  severed  parts  can, 
with  some  patience,  be  fitted  together  into  the  origi- 
nal whole,  a  hundred  times  exactly  alike.  They  are 
httle  more,  often,  than  copious  indexes  of  a  volumi- 
nous life,  without  dates  or  order.     It  is  not  probable 

^  I  would  not  be  understood  as  recommending  the  "  Gospels  Consoli- 
dated" as  a  substitute  for  the  four  Gospels,  but  as  an  auxiliary.  The 
fulness  with  which  transactions  are  there  made  to  stand  out  will  help  the 
common  reader  to  attain  conceptions  to  which  scholars  come  by  a  laborious 
intercomparison  of  the  four  narratives. 


VUl 


PREFACE. 


that  a  single  note  was  taken,  or  a  line  written,  in 
Christ's  lifethne.  The  Gospels  are  children  of  the 
memory.  They  were  vocally  delivered  hundreds  of 
times  before  being  written  out  at  all ;  and  they  bear 
the  marks  of  such  origin,  in  the  intensity  and  vivid- 
ness of  individual  incidents,  while  chronological  order 
and  literary  unity  are  but  little  regarded.  In  the 
arrangement  of  particulars,  therefore,  when  no  clew 
to  the  real  order  of  time  could  be  found,  I  have  felt  at 
liberty  to  select  such  order  as  would  best  helj)  the 
general  impression. 

That  this  work  may  carry  to  its  readers  the  rich- 
est blessing  which  I  can  imagine,  a  sympathetic  in- 
sight into  the  heart  of  its  great  subject,  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  and  a  vital  union  with 
him,  is  my  earnest  wish  and  devout  prayer. 

HENKY  WARD  BEECHEE. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  August,  1871. 


COS"TEI^TS  OF  PAET  I. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Page 

Introductory 1 


CHAPTER    II. 
The  Overture  op  Angels •     .        .11 

CHAPTER    III. 
The  Doctrinal  Basis 44 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Childhood  and  Residence  at  Nazareth      ....      54 

CHAPTER    V. 
The  Voice  in  the  Wilderness 82 

CHAPTER    VI. 
The  Temptation 114 

CHAPTER    VII. 
Jesus,  his  Personal  Appearance 134 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
The  Outlook 156 

CHAPTER    IX. 
The  Household  Gate 181 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEE    X. 
The  First  Jud^an  Ministry 200 

CHAPTEE    XI. 
The  Lesson  at  Jacob's  Well 229 

CHAPTEE    XII. 
Early  Labors  in  Galilee 253 

CHAPTEE    XIII. 
A  Tdie  of  Joy 280 

CHAPTEE    XIV. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  —  The  Beatitudes  .        .        .     305 

CHAPTEE    XV. 
The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  {continv^d)        ....     331 

CHAPTEE    XVI. 

The  Beginning  of  Conflict 364 

CHAPTEE    XVII. 
Around  the  Sea  of  Galilee 399 


APPENDIX  .........    433 

INDEX 513 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIO:^S. 


ENGEAVING   ON  STEEL. 
Head  op  Christ.     Restored,  painted,  and  engraved  by  W.  E. 

Marshall      ........    Frontispiece. 

After  photograph  of  the  rapidly  decaying  Supper  Scene  of  Leonakdo 
DA  Vinci,  at  Milan. 


96 


ENGRAYINGS  ON  WOOD. 

1.  Scene  on  the  Upper  Jordan.    A  Swamp  op  Papyrus  Eeeds, 

(Full  page.  )••.•••.••. 
The  idea  and  general  view  were  taken  from  MacGregor's  most  interest- 
ing "Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan"  ;  but  the  scene  is  worked  up  anew, 
and  the  reads  are  studied  from  both  the  Syrian  and  the  Egyptian 
papyrus.  The  view  is  found  among  the  upper  sources  of  the  Jordan  ; 
looming  above  the  horizon,  to  the  north,  is  the  "rounded  head  of 
splendid,  glittering  Hermon,"  while,  to  the  left,  is  seen  "thefar-oflF 
snow  on  the  sharp  indented  Sunnin,  chief  of  the  Lebanon  range." 

2.  Heads  of  Christ.     (Fuiipage.) 134 

Out  of  the  multitudes  of  heads  giving  artistic  fancies  as  to  the  personal 
look  of  Jesus,  six  have  been  selected  as  representative.  First  is  that 
of  Leonardo  da  Vinci  (b.  1452,  d.  1519),  reproduced  in  the  frontis- 
piece. On  the  page  facing  p.  102  are  five  :  No.  1.  From  the  earliest 
picture  of  Christ  that  is  known,  a  fresco  in  the  Catacombs  of  St. 
Calixtus,  near  Rome,  fourth  century  ;  No.  2.  From  an  emerald  in- 
taglio of  the  sixth  century,  now  in  Rome,  given  out  of  the  treasury  of 
Constantinople  to  Pope  Innocent  VIIL  for  the  redemption  of  the' 
brother  of  the  Emperor  of  the  Turks,  then  a  prisoner  of  the  Christians  ; 
No.  3.  From  a  Pieid,  or  "Dead  Christ,"  by  the  Italian  painter  Rai- 
bolini  of  Bologna,  known  as  Francisco  Francia  (b.  1450,  d.  1517); 
No.  4.  From  a  crucifix  by  Albrecht  Diirer,  the  great  German  painter 
and  engraver  (b.  1471,  d.  1528) ;  No.  5.  From  a  painting  by  Paul  de 
la  Roche,  the  French  painter  (b.  1797,  d.  1856). 


Xll  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

3.  General  Map  of  Palestine.      (Two  pages.)     .         .         .         .160 

4.  Plan  of  the  Temple,  according  to  Fergusson's  restoration  .  204 

The  ground  plan  is  given  below,  and  above  is  a  longitudinal  section,  on 
an  east  and  west  line,  showing  the  elevation  of  the  different  jwrtions. 

5.  3£ap.     Vicinity  of  Nazareth  and  Capernaum,  Galilee    .  305 

G.  The  Lake  of  Genesareth,  or  Sea  of  Galilee     .         .         .416 

Northeasterly  view,  from  the  northwestern  shore  of  the  lake  across  to- 
wards Bethsaida  and  Tell  Hum,  or  Capernaum. 


MAPS. 


Constructed  hy  A.    L.    Rawson.  —  Engraved    hy   G.    W.    &   C.    B. 

Colton   &  Co. 

In  preparing  the  Maps,  use  was  made  of  the  latest  works  of  Van 
de  Velde  and  of  the  French  and  Enghsh  surveys,  these  being  correct- 
ed by  every  means  of  hxter  information  accessible. 

The  General  Map  comprises  the  whole  countiy  visited  by  Jesus 
(except  the  journey  in  infancy  to  Egypt),  giving  but  a  few  of  the 
most  important  names. 

The  Vicinity  op  Nazareth  and  Capernaum  is  quite  full  in  de- 
tail, showing  how  many  towns  there  are  or  were  in  this  region 
(though  nearly  one  half  of  the  whole  have  been  omitted,  to  avoid 
crowding).  * 

The  Plan  of  the  Temple  of  Herod  is  after  Fergusson. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

How  well  the  Hebrew  Priest,  but  especially  the 
Prophet,  had  done  his  work,  may  best  be  seen  in  that 
moral  element  which  made  Judaism  to  religion  what 
the  Greek  spirit  had  been  to  the  intellectual  life  of 
the  world.  Nowhere  out  of  Judaea  were  to  be  found 
such  passionate  moral  fervor  and  such  intense  spiritual 
yearnings.  But  this  .spirit  had  spent  itself  as  a  for- 
mative power;  it  had  already  overshot  the  multitude, 
while  higher  natures  were  goaded  by  it  to  excess. 
There  was  need  of  a  new  religious  education.  This 
was  the  desire  and  expectation  of  the  best  men  of 
the  Jewish  Church.  How  their  spiritual  quickening 
was  to  come,  they  knew  not.  That  it  was  coming 
was  generally  believed,  and  also  that  the  approach- 
ing deliverance  would  in  some  mysterious  way  bring 
God  nearer  to  men.  "Of  the  day  and  of  the  hour" 
knew  no  man.  The  day  had  come  when  a  new  mani- 
festation of  God  was  to  be  made.  A  God  of  holiness, 
a  God  of  power,  and  a  God  of  mercy  had  been  clearly 
revealed.  The  Divine  Spirit  was  now  to  be  clothed 
with  flesh,  subjected  to  the  ordinary  laws  of  matter, 
placed  in  those  conditions  in  which  men  live,  become 
the  subject  of  care,  weariness,  sorrow,  and  of  death 
itself. 


2  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHIIIST. 

The  history  of  this  di^dne  incarnation  we  are  now 
to  trace,  in  so  far  as  the  rehgious  knowledge  which  has 
sprung  from  it  can  be  carried  back  to  its  sources,  and 
be  made  to  illustrate  the  sublime  truths  and  events 
of  the  Lord's  earthly  mission. 

Since  there  are  four  inspired  lives  of  our  Lord, — two 
of  them  by  the  hands  of  disciples  who  were  eye-wit- 
nesses of  the  events  recorded,  namely,  those  by  Mat- 
thew and  John,  and  two,  those  of  Mark  and  Luke,  by 
men  who,  though  not  disciples,  were  yet  the  com- 
panions of  the  Apostles,  and  derived  their  materials,  in 
part,  from  tliem, — why  should  it  be  necessary  to  frame 
other  histories  of  Jesus,  the  Christ?  Since  the  mate- 
rials for  any  new  life  of  Christ  must  be  derived  from 
the  four  Evangelists,  is  it  likely  that  uninspired  men, 
after  a  lapse  of  nearly  nineteen  hundred  years,  can 
do  better  than  tJiei/  did  who  were  either  witnesses  or 
contemporaries  of  the  Lord,  and  who  were  appointed 
and  guided  by  the  Divine  Spirit  to  make  a  record  of 
truth  for  all  time  ? 

The  impression  produced  by  such  suggestions  will  be 
materially  modified  upon  a  close  examination  of  the 
Gospels. 

1.  The  very  fact  that  there  are  four  lives,  which 
strikes  one  as  a  fourfold  blessing,  and  which  surely 
is  an  advantage,  carries  with  it  also  certain  disadvan- 
tages. For  a  clear  view  of  the  life  and  teachings 
of  our  Lord,  four  fields  are  to  be  reaped  instead  of 
one. 

The  early  ages  needed  testimony;  our  age  needs 
teaching.  Four  witnesses  are  better  for  testimony. 
But  for  biography  one  complete  narrative,  combining 
in  it  the  materials  of  the  four,  would  have  given  a  pic- 


INTRODUCTORY.  3 

ture  of  our  Lord  more  in  accordance  with  the  habits 
and  wants  of  men  in  our  day. 

This  diversity  of  witnesses  subserves  other  important 
ends.  No  single  man  could  have  represented  all  sides 
of  the  Saviour's  teaching.  A  comparison  of  Matthew's 
Gospel  with  that  of  John  will  show  how  much  would 
have  been  lost,  had  there  been  only  a  single  collector 
and  reporter  of  Christ's  discourses. 

It  is  not  easy,  even  for  one  trained  to  investigation, 
to  gather  out  of  the  four  Evangelists  a  clear  and  con- 
sistent narrative  of  our  Lord's  ministry;  and  still  less 
will  unstudious  men  succeed  in  doing  it. 

No  one  will  deny  that  every  Christian  man  should 
seek  a  comprehensive,  and  not  a  fragmentary,  knowl- 
edge of  his  Lord.  In  other  words,  every  Christian 
reader  seeks,  for  himself,  out  of  the  other  four,  to 
weave  a  fifth  life  of  Christ.  Why  should  not  this  in- 
dispensable work  be  performed  for  men,  with  all  the 
aids  of  elaborate  investioration? 

2.  The  impression  derived  from  this  general  view  is 
greatly  strengthened  by  a  critical  examination  of  the 
contents  of  the  Gospels. 

It  is  one  of  the  striking  facts  in  history,  that  One 
whose  teachings  were  to  revolutionize  human  ideas, 
and  to  create  a  new  era  in  the  world's  affairs,  did  not 
commit  a  single  syllable  to  paper,  and  did  not  organize 
a  single  institution.  An  unlimited  power  of  acting 
upon  the  world  without  these  subsidiary  and,  to  men, 
indispensable  instruments,  —  viz.  writing  and  organiza- 
tion, —  and  only  by  the  enunciation  of  absolute  truths 
in  their  relation  to  human  conduct,  is  one  of  the  marks 
of  Divinity. 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Jesus  appointed  any  of  his 


4  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

disciples  to  perform  the  work  of  an  historian.  None 
of  them  cLaim  such  authorization.  Only  Luke  ^  makes 
any  reference  to  the  motives  which  led  him  to  under- 
take the  task  of  writing,  and  he  claims  no  other  than 
a  personal  desire  to  record  a  knowledge  which  he 
deemed  fuller  than  that  of  others. 

The  four  Gospels  are  evidently  final  and  authorita- 
tive collections  of  oral  histories  and  compilations  of 
narratives  which  were  already  circulating  among  the 
early  Christians.  In  the  cases  of  Matthew  and  John, 
these  materials  were  wrought  ujDon  the  fabric  of  their 
own  personal  observation  and  experience. 

There  is  in  none  of  them  any  consistent  regard  to 
the  order  of  time  or  of  place.  The  principle  of  arrange- 
ment evidently  is  to  be  found  in  the  moral  similari- 
ties of  the  materials,  and  not  in  their  chronological  se- 
quences. Different  events  are  clustered  together  which 
were  widely  separated.  Whole  chapters  of  parables 
are  given  as  if  they  had  been  delivered  in  a  single 
discourse.  We  should  never  have  known  from  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  or  Luke,  that  our  Lord  was  accustomed 
to  go  up  to  Jerusalem  to  the  great  Jewish  feasts ;  but 
we  do  get  it  from  John,  who  is  mainly  concerned  with 
the  history  and  discourses  of  his  Master  in  Judaea. 
Matthew,  on  the  other  hand,  bestows  his  attention 
uj^on  that  part  of  the  Saviour's  life  which  was  spent 
in  Galilee.     Moreover,  he  seldom  enters,  as  John  does, 

*  Luke  i.  1-4.  "Forasmuch  as  many  have  taken  in  hand  to  set  forth 
in  order  a  declaration  of  those  things  which  are  most  surely  believed  among 
us,  even  as  they  delivered  them  unto  us,  which  from  the  beginning  were  eye- 
witnesses, and  ministers  of  the  word  ;  it  seemed  good  to  me  also,  having  had 
perfect  understanding  of  all  things  from  the  very  first,  to  Avritc  unto  thee  in 
order,  most  excellent  Theophihis,  that  thou  mightest  know  the  certainty  of 
those  tlungs  wherein  thou  hast  been  instructed." 


INTRODUCTORY.  5 

upon  interior  and  profoundly  spiritual  experiences. 
John  almost  as  little  notices  the  merely  external  facts 
and  events  of  the  Lord's  life,  which  Matthew  habitually 
reo-ards.-^ 

o 

In  their  structure  the  Evangelical  narratives  have 
been  well  compared  to  Xenophon's  Memorabilia  of 
Socrates.  They  are  clusters  of  events,  parables,  mir- 
acles, discourses,  in  which  the  order  of  time  is  some- 
times obscure,  and  sometimes  wholly  inverted. 

In  every  age  of  the  Church  it  has  been  deemed  wise 
to  attempt  to  form  a  harmony  of  the  four  Gospels. 
Since  the  year  A.  D.  1500,  there  have  been  more  than 
fftfj  harmonies  made  by  most  eminent  Christian  schol- 
ars. Of  Lives  of  Christ  and  Harmonies  there  have 
been  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty. 

But  for  some  such  help,  the  difficulties  arising  from  a 
comparison  of  the  different  narratives  would  be  insolu- 
ble. Many  obstacles  are  thus  removed,  many  apparent 
contradictions  are  congruously  explained,  many  appar- 
ent inconsistencies  are  harmonized ;  and  it  is  shown 
that,  of  the  inexplicable  facts  remaining,  none  are  im- 
portant, —  certainly  not  as  respects  the  great  truths  or 
the  essential  events  of  the  narrative. 

3.  It  is  probable  that  no  equal  amount  of  truth  was 
ever  expressed  in  a  mode  so  well  fitted  for  universal 
circulation.     And  yet,  as  the  Gospels  were  written  by 

'  "The  first  three  Evangelists  describe  especially  those  things  which  Christ 
did  in  our  flesh,  and  relate  the  precepts  which  He  delivered  on  the  duties 
to  be  performed  by  us.  while  we  walk  on  earth  and  dwell  in  the  flesh.  But 
St.  John  soars  to  heaven,  as  an  eagle,  above  the  clouds  of  human  infirmity, 
and  reveals  to  us  the  mysteries  of  Christ's  Godhead,  and  of  the  Trinity  in 
Unity,  and  the  felicities  of  Life  Eternal,  and  gazes  on  the  Light  of  Lnmuta- 
ble  Truth  with  a  keen  and  steady  ken."  —  Si.  Aufjustine,  translated  hij  Dr. 
Wordsworth.     Introduction  to  Commentaries  on  the  New  Testament. 


6  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

Jews,  and  with  primary  reference  to  certain  wants  of 
the  age  in  which  the  writers  Hved,  they  are  full  of 
allusions,  references,  customs,  and  beliefs,  w^liich  have 
long  since  passed  away  or  have  become  greatly  modi- 
fied. There  are  also  in  the  New  Testament  allusions 
to  customs  of  which  there  is  no  knowledge  whatever 
preserved. 

But  far  more  important  is  it  to  observe  the  habits  of 
thought,  the  whole  mental  attitude  of  the  Apostolic 
age,  and  the  change  which  has  since  come  upon  the 
world.  Truths  remain  the  same  ;  but  every  age  has  its 
own  style  of  thought.  Although  this  difference  is  not 
so  great  as  is  the  difference  between  one  language  and 
another,  it  is  yet  so  great  as  to  require  restatement  or, 
as  it  were,  translation.  The  truth  which  Paul  argues  to 
the  Romans  is  as  important  for  us  as  it  was  for  them. 
But  we  are  not  Jews.^  We  care  nothing  for  circum- 
cision. The  Hebrew  law  has  never  entangled  us.  We 
have  our  prejudices  and  obstinacies,  but  they  are 
not  the  same  as  those  which  the  Aj^ostle  combated. 
The  truth  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  when  sepa- 
rated from  the  stalk  and  ear  on  which  it  grew,  is  of 
universal  nutriment.  But  in  Paul's  own  day  the  stem 
and  the  husk  also  were  green  and  succulent ;  they 
were  living  and  indispensable  parts  of  his  statement 
of  the  truth.  Far  less  is  this  distinction  applicable  to 
the  Gospels,  and  yet  it  is,  in  a  measure,  true  of  them. 

Our  age  has  developed  wants  no  deeper,  perhajDS, 
nor  more  important,  than  those  in  the  Apostolic  age, 

^  Jews  were  dispersed  through  all  the  civilized  world,  and  in  general, 
both  in  Greek  and  Roman  cities,  there  were  synagogues,  in  which  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  were  read,  and  in  which  the  Apostles  made  known  to 
their  own  countrymen  the  fulfilment  of  those  Scriptures  in  the  history  of 
our  Lord.     Sec  Acts  28  :  IG  -  24. 


INTRODUCTORY.  J 

but  needs  essentially  different.  We  live  for  different 
ends.  We  have  other  aspirations.  We  are  plagued 
with  new  infidelities  of  our  own.  We  are  proud  in  a 
different  way,  and  vain  after  our  own  manner.  To  meet 
all  these  ever-changing  necessities  of  the  human  heart 
and  of  society,  men  are  ordained  to  preach  the  gospel. 
If  merely  reading  the  text  as  it  was  originally  delivered 
were  enough,  why  should  there  be  preachers  ?  It  is 
the  business  of  preachers  to  re-adapt  truth,  from  age 
to  age,  to  men's  ever-renewing  wants. 

And  what  is  this,  but  doing  by  single  passages  of 
Scripture  what  a  Life  of  Christ  attempts  to  do  system- 
atically, and  in  some  dramatic  form,  for  the  whole? 
Some  have  said,  almost  contemptuously,  "  The  only 
good  Lives  of  Christ  are  those  by  the  four  Evangelists." 
And  yet  these  very  men  are  so  little  content  with  these 
same  Evangelists,  that  they  spend  their  hves  in  restat- 
ing, illustrating,  and  newly  applying  the  substance  and 
matter  of  the  Evangelical  writings,  —  thus  by  their 
own  most  sensible  example  refuting  their  own  most 
foohsh  criticism ! 

4.  But  there  are  reasons  yet  deeper  why  the  Life 
of  Christ  should  be  rewritten  for  each  and  every  age. 
The  life  of  the  Christian  Church  has,  in  one  point 
of  view,  been  a  gradual  unfolding  and  interpretation  of 
the  spiritual  truths  of  the  Gospels.  The  knowledge 
of  the  human  heart,  of  its  yearnings,  its  failures,  its  sins 
and  sorrows,  has  immensely  increased  in  the  progress 
of  centuries. 

Has  nothing  been  learned  by  the  Christian  world  of 
the  methods  of  moral  government,  of  the  communion 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  of  the  power  of  the  Divine  Spirit  to 
cleanse,  enrich,  and  fire  the  soul,  after  so  many  centu- 


8  TEE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

ries  of  experience  ?  Has  this  world  no  lore  of  love,  no 
stores  of  faith,  no  experience  of  joy  unfolded  from  the 
original  genns,  which  shall  fit  it  to  go  back  to  the  truths 
of  the  New  Testament  with  a  far  larger  understanding 
of  their  contents  than  the?/  had  who  wrote  them  ?  Proph- 
ets do  not  always  imderstand  their  own  visions ;  Apos- 
tles deliver  truths  which  are  far  deeper,  and  more 
glorious  in  their  ulterior  forms,  than  even  their  utterers 
suspect. 

It  is  both  a  privilege  and  a  duty  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  to  gather  up,  from  time  to  time,  these  living 
commentaries  upon  divine  truth,  —  these  divine  inter- 
pretations, by  means  of  human  experience,  of  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus,  —  and  carry  back  this  hght  and  knowl- 
edge to  the  primal  forms  and  symbols.  Our  Lord  him- 
self declared  that  his  kingdom  of  truth  was  as  a  seed. 
But  what  shall  interpret  a  seed  like  its  own  growth 
and  harvest  ?  To  us  the  narratives  of  the  Gospel  ought 
to  mean  far  more  than  to  the  primitive  disciple,  or  they 
have  been  germs  without  development,  seed  without  a 
harvest. 

All  critics  of  the  Gospels,  though,  in  each  group, 
differing  by  many  shades  among  themselves,  may  be 
reduced  to  two  classes  :  — 

1.  Those  who  believe  that  the  writings  of  the  Evan- 
gelists are  authentic  historical  documents,  that  they 
were  divinely  inspired,  and  that  the  supernatural  ele- 
ments contained  in  them  are  real,  and  to  be  credited  as 
much  as  any  other  parts  of  the  history;  and, — 

2.  Those  wdio  deny  the  inspiration  of  the  Gosf)els, 
regarding  them  as  unassisted  human  productions,  filled 
with  mistakes  and  inaccuracies ;  especially,  as  filled 
with  superstitions  and  pretended  miracles. 


INTRODUCTORY.  9 

These  latter  critics  set  aside  all  traces  of  the  super- 
natural. They  feel  at  liberty  to  reject  all  miracles, 
either  summarily,  with  "philosophic"  contempt,  or  by 
explanations  as  wonderful  as  the  miracles  are  marvel- 
lous. In  effect,  they  act  as  if  there  could  be  no  evi- 
dence except  that  which  addresses  itself  to  the  ma- 
terial senses.  Such  reasoning  chains  philosophy  to 
matter :  to  which  statement  many  already  do  not  ob- 
ject, but  boldly  claim  that,  in  our  present  condition, 
no  truth  can  be  Jcnown  to  men  except  that  which  con- 
forms itself  to  physical  laws.  There  is  a  step  further, 
and  one  that  must  soon  be  taken,  if  these  reasons  are 
logically  consistent;  namely,  to  hold  that  there  is  no 
evidence  of  a  God,  unless  Nature  be  that  God.  And 
this  is  Pantheism,  which,  being  interpreted,  is  Atheism. 

We  scarcely  need  to  say,  that  we  shall  take  our  stand 
with  those  who  accept  the  New  Testament  as  a  collec- 
tion of  veritable  historical  documents,  with  the  record 
of  miracles,  and  with  the  train  of  spiritual  phenomena, 
as  of  absolute  and  literal  truth.  The  miraculous  ele- 
ment constitutes  the  very  nerve-system  of  the  Gospel. 
To  withdraw  it  from  credence  is  to  leave  the  Gospel 
histories  a  mere  shapeless  mass  of  pulp. 

What  is  left  when  these  venerable  records  are 
stripped  of  the  ministry  of  angels,  of  the  mystery  of  the 
divine  incarnation,  of  the  wonders  and  miracles  which 
accompanied  our  Lord  at  every  step  of  his  career? 
Christ's  miracles  were  not  occasional  and  occult,  but  in 
a  long  series,  with  every  degree  of  publicity,  involving 
almost  every  element  of  nature,  and  in  numbers  so 
great  that  they  are  summed  up  as  comprehending 
whole  villages,  towns,  and  neighborhoods  in  their  bene- 
factions.    They  produced  an  excitement  in  the  public 


10  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

mind  so  great  that  ofttimes  secrecy  was  enjoined,  lest 
the  Roman  government  should  interfere. 

That  Christ  should  be  the  centre  and  active  cause 
of  such  stufjcndous  imposture,  on  the  supposition  that 
miracles  were  but  deceptions,  shocks  the  moral  feeling 
of  those  even  who  disbelieve  his  divinity.  Widely  as 
men  differ  on  every  topic  connected  with  the  Christ, 
there  is  one  ground  on  which  all  stand  together, 
namely,  that  Jesus  was  good.  Even  Infidelity  would 
feel  bereaved  in  the  destruction  of  Christ's  moral 
character.  But  to  save  that,  and  yet  to  explain  away 
the  miracles  which  he  wrought,  has  put  ingenuity  to 
ludicrous  shifts. 

Rexax,  to  save  the  character  of  his  poetic  hero,  is 
obliged  to  depict  him  as  the  subject  of  an  enthusiasm 
which  grew  upon  him  until  it  became  a  self-deceiving 
fanaticism.  It  seems,  then,  that  the  whole  world  has 
been  under  the  influence  of  one  who  was  not  an  impos- 
tor, only  because  he  Avas  mildly  insane  ! 

That  such  a  conclusion  should  give  no  pain  to  men 
utterly  destitute  of  religious  aspirations  may  well  be 
conceived.  But  all  others,  lookmg  upon  this  wanton 
and  needless  procedure,  will  adojot  the  language  of 
Mary,  and  say,  "  They  have  taken  away  my  Lord,  and 
I  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him." 


THE  OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS.  11 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS. 

Had  it  been  the  design  of  Divine  Providence  that 
the  Gospels  should  be  wrought  up  like  a  poem  for  lit- 
erary and  artistic  effect,  surely  the  narrative  of  the 
angelic  appearances  would  have  glowed  in  all  the 
colors  of  an  Oriental  morning.  They  are,  indeed,  to 
those  who  have  an  eye  to  discern,  a  wonderful  and  ex- 
quisitely tinted  prelude  to  the  dawn  of  a  glorious  day. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  earth  and  its  dull  in- 
habitants knew  what  was  approaching.  But  heavenly 
spirits  knew  it.  There  was  movement  and  holy  ecstasy 
in  the  Upper  Air,  and  angels  seem,  as  birds  when  new- 
come  in  spring,  to  have  flown  hither  and  thither,  in 
songful  mood,  dipping  their  white  wings  into  our  at- 
mosphere, just  touching  the  earth  or  glancing  along 
its  surface,  as  sea-birds  skim  the  surface  of  the  sea. 
And  yet  birds  are  far  too  rude,  and  wings  too  burden- 
some, to  express  adequately  that  feeling  of  unlabored 
angelic  motion  which  the  narrative  produces  upon  the 
imagination.  Their  airy  and  gentle  coming  would  per- 
haps be  better  compared  to  the  glow  of  colors  flung  by 
the  sun  upon  morning  clouds  that  seem  to  be  born 
just  where  they  appear.  Like  a  beam  of  light  striking 
through  some  orifice,  they  shine  upon  Zacharias  in  the 
Tetnple.  As  the  morning  light  finds  the  flowers,  so 
found  they  the  mother  of  Jesus.     To  the  shepherds' 


12  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

eyes  they  filled  the  midnight  arch  like  auroral  beams 
of  light ;  but  not  as  silently,  for  they  sang,  and  more 
marvellously  than  when  "the  morning  stars  sang 
together  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy." 

The  new  era  ojoens  at  Jerusalem.  The  pride  with 
which  a  devout  Jew  looked  ujoon  Jerusalem  can 
scarcely  be  imagined  in  our  prosaic  times.  Men 
loved  that  city  with  such  passionate  devotion  as  we 
are  accustomed  to  see  bestowed  only  on  a  living  per- 
son. When  the  doctrine  of  immortality  grew  more 
distinctly  into  the  belief  of  holy  men,  no  name  could 
be  found  which  would  make  the  invisible  w^orld  so 
attractive  as  that  of  the  beloved  city.  New  Jeru- 
salem was  the  chosen  name  for  Heaven. 

Upon  this  city  broke  the  morning  rays  of  the 
Advent.  A  venerable  priest,  Zacharias,  belonging  to 
the  retinue  of  the  Temple,  had  spent  his  wdiole  life  in 
the  quiet  offices  of  religion.  He  was  married,  but 
childless.     To  him  happened  a  surprising  thing. 

It  was  his  turn  to  burn  incense, — the  most  honor- 
able function  of  the  priestly  office.  Upon  the  great 
altar  of  sacrifice,  outside  the  holy  ^^lace,  the  burnt- 
offering  w^as  placed.  At  a  signal  the  priest  came 
forth,  and,  taking  fire  from  this  altar,  he  entered  the 
inner  and  more  sacred  place  of  the  Temjole,  and  there, 
before  the  altar  of  incense,  putting  the  fragrant  gum 
upon  the  coals,  he  swung  the  censer,  filling  the  air 
with  wreaths  of  smoke.  The  people  who  had  gath- 
ered on  the  outside,  as  soon  as  the  smoke  ascended 
silently  sent  up  their  prayers,  of  Avhich  the  incense 
was  the  symbol.  "  And  there  appeared  unto  him  an 
angel  of  the  Lord,  standing  on  the  right  side  of  the 
altar." 


THE  OVERTURE   OF  ANGELS.  13 

That  he  trembled  with  fear  and  awe  is  apparent 
from  the  angel's  address, — "Fear  not!"  The  key- 
note of  the  new  dispensation  was  sounded!  Here- 
after, God  was  to  be  brought  nearer,  to  seem  less 
terrible ;  and  a  religion  of  the  spirit  and  of  love  was 
soon  to  dispossess  a  religion  of  ceremonials  and  of 
fear. 

"  Fear  not,  Zacharias  :  for  thy  prayer  is  heard ; 
And  thy  wife  Elisabeth  shall  bear  thee  a  son, 
And  thou  shalt  call  his  name  John. 
And  thou  shalt  have  joy  and  gladness ; 
And  many  shall  rejoice  at  his  birth. 
For  he  shall  be  great  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
And  shall  drink  neither  wine  nor  strong  drink  ; 
And  he  shall  be  filled  with  the  Holy    Ghost   even  from  his  mother's 

womb. 
And  many   of  the   children  of  Israel  shall  he  turn  to  the  Lord  their 

God. 
And  he  shall  go  before  him  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias, 
To  turn  the  hearts  of  the  parents  to  the  children, 
And  the  disobedient  to  the  wisdom  of  the  just ; 
To  make  ready  a  people  prepared  for  the  Lord." 

If  this  address,  to  our  modern  ears,  seems  stately 
and  formal,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  no  other  lan- 
guage would  seem  so  fit  for  a  heavenly  message  to  a 
Jewish  priest  as  that  which  breathed  the  spirit  of  the 
Old  Testament  writings;  and  that  to  us  it  savors  of 
the  sermon  because  it  has  since  been  so  often  used 
for  the  purposes  of  the  sermon. 

But  the  laws  of  the  material  world  seemed  to  the 
doubting  priest  more  powerful  than  the  promise  of 
that  God  who  made  all  physical  laws.  To  this  distinct 
promise  of  a  son  who  should  become  a  great  reformer, 
and  renew  the  power  and  grandeur  of  the  prophetic 
office,  he  could  only  say,  "Whereby  shall  I  know 
this  ? "      His   doubts   should    have   begun   earlier,   or 


14  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

not  at  all.  He  should  have  rejected  the  whole  vision, 
or  should  have  accepted  the  promise  implicitly;  for 
what  sign  could  be  given  so  assuring  as  the  very 
presence  of  the  angel  ?  But  the  sign  which  he  asked 
was  given  in  a  way  that  he  could  never  forget.  His 
speech  departed ;  silence  was  the  sign ;  —  as  if  the 
priest  of  the  Old  was  to  teach  no  more  rmtil  the  com- 
ing of  the  New. 

When  Zacharias  came  forth  to  the  people,  who 
were  already  impatient  at  his  long  delay,  they  per- 
ceived by  his  altered  manner  that  some  great  experi- 
ence had  befallen  him.  He  could  not  speak,  and  could 
dismiss  them  only  by  a  gesture. 

We  have  no  certainty  whether  this  scene  occurred 
at  a  morning  or  an  evening  service,  but  it  is  supposed 
to  have  been  at  the  evening  sacrifice.  In  that  case 
the  event  was  an  impressive  symbol.  The  people  be- 
held their  priest  standing  against  the  setting  sun, 
dumb,  while  they  dispersed  in  the  twilight,  the  shadow 
of  the  Temple  having  already  fallen  upon  them.  The 
Old  was  passing  into  darkness;  to-morrow  another  sun 
must  rise ! 

Elisabeth,  the  wife  of  Zacharias,  returned  to  the  "  hill- 
country,"  or  that  region  lying  west  and  south  of  Jeru- 
salem. The  promise  had  begun  to  be  fulfilled.  All  the 
promises  made  to  Israel  were  pointing  to  their  ful- 
filment through  her.  These  promises,  accumulating 
through  ages,  were  ample  enough,  even  in  the  letter,  to 
fill  a  devout  soul  with  ardent  expectancy.  But  falling 
upon  the  imagination  of  a  greatly  distressed  people, 
they  had  been  magnified  or  refracted  until  the  public 
mind  was  filled  with  inordinate  and  even  fantastic  ex- 
pectations of  the  Messianic  reign.     It  is  not  probable 


THE  OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS.  15 

that  any  were  altogether  free  from  this  dekision,  not 
even  the  soberest  and  most  spiritual  natures.  We 
can  therefore  imagine  but  faintly  the  ecstatic  hopes 
of  Zacharias  and  Elisabeth  during  the  six  months  in 
which  they  were  hidden  in  their  home  among  the  hills 
before  the  history  again  finds  them.  They  are  next 
introduced  through  the  story  of  another  memorable 
actor  in  this  drama,  the  mother  of  our  Lord. 

It  is  difficult  to  speak  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus, 
both  because  so  little  is  known  of  her  and  because  so 
much  has  been  imagined.  Around  no  other  name  in 
history  has  the  imagination  thrown  its  witching  light 
in  so  great  a  volume.  In  art  she  has  divided  honors 
with  her  divine  Son.  For  a  thousand  years  her  name 
has  excited  the  profoundest  reverence  and  worship. 
A  mother's  love  and  forbearance  with  her  children,  as 
it  is  a  universal  experience,  so  is  it  the  nearest  image 
of  the  divine  tenderness  which  the  soul  can  form. 

In  attempting  to  present  the  Divine  Being  in  his 
relations  to  universal  government,  men  have  well-nigh 
lost  his  personality  in  a  sublime  abstraction.  Those 
traits  of  personal  tenderness  and  generous  love  which 
alone  will  ever  draw  the  human  heart  to  God,  it  has 
too  often  been  obliged  to  seek  elsewhere.  And,  how- 
ever mistaken  the  endeavor  to  find  in  the  Virgin 
Mary  the  sympathy  and  fond  familiarity  of  a  divine 
fostering  love,  it  is  an  error  into  which  men  have  been 
drawn  by  the  profoundest  needs  of  the  human  soul. 
It  is  an  error  of  the  heart.  The  cure  will  be  found 
by  revealing,  in  the  Divine  nature,  the  longed-for 
traits  in  greater  beauty  and  force  than  are  given  them 
in  the  legends  of  the  mother  of  Jesus. 

Meanwhile,  if   the    doctors  of  theology  have  long 


16  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

hesitated  to  deify  the  Virgin,  art  has  imconsciously 
raised  her  to  the  highest  place.  There  is  nothing  in 
attitude,  expression,  or  motion  which  has  been  left  un- 
tried. The  earlier  Christian  painters  were  content  to 
express  her  pure  fervor,  without  relying  upon  the  ele- 
ment of  beauty.  But  as,  age  by  age,  imagination 
kindled,  the  canvas  has  given  forth  this  divine  mother 
in  more  and  more  glowing  beauty,  borrowing  from 
the  Grecian  spirit  all  that  was  charming  in  the  high- 
est ideals  of  Venus,  and  adding  to  them  an  clement  of 
transcendent  purity  and  devotion,  which  has  no  paral- 
lel in  ancient  art. 

It  is  difficult  for  one  whose  eye  has  been  steeped  in 
the  colors  of  art  to  go  back  from  its  enchantment  to 
the  barrenness  of  actual  history.  By  Luke  alone  is  the 
place  even  of  her  residence  mentioned.  It  is  only  in- 
ferred that  she  was  of  the  royal  house  of  David.  She 
was  already  esj^oused  to  a  man  named  Joseph,  but  not 
as  yet  married.  This  is  the  sum  of  our  knowledge 
of  Mary  at  the  point  where  her  history  is  introduced. 
Legends  abound,  many  of  them  charming,  but  hke 
the  innumerable  faces  which  artists  have  painted,  they 
gratify  the  imagination  without  adding  anything  to 
historic  truth. 

The  scene  of  the  Annunciation  will  always  be  admi- 
rable in  literature,  even  to  those  who  are  not  disposed 
to  accord  it  any  historic  value.  To  announce  to  an 
espoused  virgin  that  she  was  to  be  the  mother  of  a 
child,  out  of  wedlock,  by  the  unconscious  working  in 
her  of  the  Divine  power,  would,  beforehand,  seem 
inconsistent  with  delicacy.  But  no  person  of  poetic 
sensibility  can  read  the  scene  as  it  is  narrated  by 
Luke  without  admiring  its  sublime  purity  and  serenity. 


THE  OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS.  Yj 

It  is  not  a  transaction  of  the  lower  world  of  passion. 
Tilings  most  difficult  to  a  lower  sphere  are  both  easy 
and  beautiful  in  that  atmosphere  which;,  as  it  were, 
the  angel  brought  down  with  him. 

"And  the  angel  came  in  unto  her  and  said,  Hail! 
thou  that  art  highly  favored  \   The  Lord  is  with  thee  ! " 

Then  was  announced  the  birth  of  Jesus,  and  that  he 
should  inherit  and  prolong  endlessly  the  glories  prom- 
ised to  Israel  of  old.  To  her  inquiry,  "  How  shall  this 
be  ? "  the  angel  replied  :  — 

"  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee, 
And  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee ; 
Therefore  also  that  holy  thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee 
Shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God." 

It  was  also  made  known  to  Mary  that  her  cousin 
Elisabeth  had  conceived  a  son.  And  Mary  said :  "  Be- 
hold the  handmaid  of  the  Lord !  Be  it  unto  me  accord- 
ing to  thy  word." 

Many  have  brought  to  this  history  the  associations 
of  a  later  day,  of  a  different  civilization,  and  of  habits  of 
thought  foreign  to  the  whole  cast  of  the  Oriental  mind. 
Out  of  a  process  so  unphilosophical  they  have  evolved 
the  most  serious  doubts  and  difficulties.  But  no  one 
is  fitted  to  appreciate  either  the  beauty  or  the  truth- 
fulness to  nature  of  such  a  scene,  who  cannot  in  some 
degree  carry  himself  back  in  sympathy  to  that  Jewish 
maiden's  life.  The  education  of  a  Hebrew  woman 
was  far  freer  than  that  of  women  of  other  Oriental  na- 
tions. She  had  more  personal  liberty,  a  wider  scope  of 
intelligence,  than  obtained  among  the  Greeks  or  even 
among  the  Romans.  But  above  all,  she  received  a 
moral  education  which  placed  her  high  above  her  sis- 
ters in  other  lands. 


18  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

It  is  plain  that  Mary  was  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Not  only  was  the  history  of 
her  people  familiar  to  her,  but  her  language  shows  that 
the  poetry  of  the  Old  Testament  had  filled  her  soul. 
She  was  fitted  to  receive  her  people's  history  in  its 
most  romantic  and  spiritual  aspects.  They  were  God's 
peculiar  people.  Their  history  unrolled  before  her  as 
a  series  of  wonderful  providences.  The  path  glowed 
with  divine  manifestations.  Miracles  blossomed  out  of 
every  natural  law.  But  to  her  there  were  no  laws  of 
nature.  Such  ideas  had  not  yet  been  born.  The 
earth  was  "  the  Lord's."  All  its  phenomena  were  direct 
manifestations  of  his  will.  Clouds  and  storms  came 
on  errands  from  God.  Light  and  darkness  were  the 
shining  or  the  hiding  of  his  face.  Calamities  were  pun- 
ishments. Harvests  were  divine  gifts ;  famines  were 
immediate  divine  penalties.  To  us  God  acts  through 
instruments ;  to  the  Hebrew  he  acted  immediately  by 
his  will.  "  He  spake,  and  it  was  done ;  he  commanded, 
and  it  stood  fast." 

To  such  a  one  as  Mary  there  would  be  no  incredu- 
lity as  to  the  reality  of  this  angelic  manifestation.  Her 
only  surprise  would  be  that  she  should  be  chosen  for  a 
renewal  of  those  divine  interpositions  in  behalf  of  her 
people  of  which  their  history  was  so  full.  The  very 
reason  which  would  lead  us  to  suspect  a  miracle  in  our 
day  gave  it  credibility  in  other  days.  It  is  simply  a 
question  of  adaptation.  A  miracle  as  a  blind  appeal 
to  the  moral  sense,  without  the  use  of  the  reason,  was 
adapted  to  the  earlier  periods  of  human  life.  Its 
usefulness  ceases  when  the  moral  sense  is  so  devclo2)ed 
that  it  can  find  its  own  way  through  the  ministration 
of  the  reason.     A  miracle  is  a  substitute  for  moral 


THE  OVERTURE   OF  ANGELS.  IQ 

demonstration,  and  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  early 
conditions  of  mankind. 

Of  all  miracles,  there  was  none  more  sacred,  con- 
gruous, and  grateful  to  a  Hebrew  than  an  angelic  vis- 
itation. A  devout  Jew,  in  looking  back,  saw  angels  fly- 
ing thick  between  the  heavenly  throne  and  the  throne 
of  his  fathers.  The  greatest  events  of  national  history 
had  been  made  illustrious  by  their  presence.  Their 
work  began  with  the  primitive  pair.  They  had  come 
at  evening  to  Abraham's  tent.  They  had  waited  upon 
Jacob's  footsteps.  They  had  communed  with  Moses, 
with  the  judges,  with  priests  and  magistrates,  with 
prophets  and  holy  men.  All  the  way  down  from  the 
beginning  of  history,  the  pious  Jew  saw  the  shining 
footsteps  of  these  heavenly  messengers.  Nor  had  the 
faith  died  out  in  the  long  interval  through  which  their 
visits  had  been  withheld.  Mary  could  not,  therefore, 
be  surprised  at  the  coming  of  angels,  but  only  that 
they  should  come  to  her. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  Zacharias  should  be  struck 
dumb  for  doubting  the  heavenly  messenger,  while  Mary 
went  unrebuked.  But  it  is  plain  that  there  was  a 
wide  difference  in  the  nature  of  the  relative  experi- 
ences. To  Zacharias  was  promised  an  event  external 
to  himself,  not  involving  his  own  sensibility.  But  to  a 
woman's  heart  there  can  be  no  other  announcement 
possible  that  shall  so  stir  every  feeling  and  sensibility 
of  the  soul,  as  the  promise  and  prospect  of  her  first 
child.  Motherhood  is  the  very  centre  of  womanhood. 
The  first  awaking  in  her  soul  of  the  reality  that  she 
bears  a  double  life  —  herself  within  herself —  brinors  a 

o 

sweet  bewilderment  of  wonder  and  joy.  The  more 
sure  her  faith  of  the  fact,  the  more  tremulous  must 


20  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

her  soul  become.  Such  an  announcement  can  never 
mean  to  a  father's  what  it  does  to  a  mother's  heart. 
And  it  is  one  of  the  exquisite  shades  of  subtle  truth, 
and  of  beauty  as  well,  that  the  angel  who  rebuked 
Zacharias  for  doubt  saw  nothing  in  the  trembling 
hesitancy  and  wonder  of  Mary  inconsistent  with  a 
childlike  faith. 

If  the  heart  swells  with  the  hope  of  a  new  life  in  the 
common  lot  of  mortals,  with  what  profound  feeling 
must  Mary  have  pondered  the  angel's  promise  to  her 
son ! 

"  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest ; 
And  the  Lord  God  shall  give  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David ; 
And  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever, 
And  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end." 

It  is  expressly  stated  that  Joseph  was  of  the  "  house 
of  David,"  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  Mary  was 
of  the  same,  except  this  implication,  "  The  Lord  God 
shall  give  him  the  throne  of  his  flxther  David."  Since 
Joseph  was  not  his  father,  it  could  only  be  through  his 
mother  that  he  could  trace  his  lineage  to  David. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  Mary  was  more 
enlightened  than  those  among  whom  she  dwelt,  or  that 
she  gave  to  these  words  that  spiritual  sense  in  which 
alone  they  have  proved  true.  To  her,  it  may  be  sup- 
posed, there  arose  a  vague  idea  that  her  son  was  des- 
tined to  be  an  eminent  teacher  and  deliverer.  She 
would  naturally  go  back  in  her  mind  to  the  instances, 
in  the  history  of  her  own  people,  of  eminent  men 
and  women  who  had  been  raised  up  in  dark  times  to 
deliver  their  people. 

She  lived  in  the  very  region  which  Deborah  and 
Barak  had  made  famous.     Almost  before  her  eyes  lay 


THE  OVERTURE   OF  ANGELS.  21 

the  plains  on  which  great  deUverances  had  been 
wrought  by  heroes  raised  up  by  the  God  of  Israel. 
But  that  other  glory,  of  spiritual  deliverance,  was 
hidden  from  her.  Or,  if  that  influence  which  over- 
shadowed her  awakened  in  her  the  spiritual  vision,  it 
was  doubtless  to  reveal  that  her  son  was  to  be  some- 
thing more  than  a  mere  worldly  conqueror.  But 
it  was  not  for  her  to  discern  the  glorious  reality.  It 
hung  in  the  future  as  a  dim  brightness,  whose  par- 
ticular form  and  substance  could  not  be  discerned. 
For  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Mary  —  prophet  as 
every  woman  is — could  discern  that  spiritual  truth 
of  the  promises  of  the  Old  Testament  which  his  own 
disciples  did  not  understand  after  companying  with 
Jesus  for  three  years,  nor  yet  after  his  ascension,  nor 
until  the  fire  of  the  pentecostal  day  had  kindled  in 
them  the  eye  of  flame  that  pierces  all  things  and  dis- 
cerns the  spirit. 

"And  Mary  arose  in  those  days,  and  went  into  the 
hill-country  with  haste,  into  a  city  of  Juda,  and  entered 
into  the  house  of  Zacharias  and  saluted  Elisabeth." 

The  overshadowing  Spirit  had  breathed  upon  her 
the  new  life.  What  woman  of  deep  soul  was  ever 
unthrilled  at  the  mystery  of  life  beating  within  life  ? 
And  what  Jewish  woman,  devoutly  believing  that  in 
her  child  were  to  be  fulfilled  the  hopes  of  Israel,  could 
hold  this  faith  without  excitement  almost  too  great  to 
be  borne  ?  She  could  not  tarry.  With  haste  she  trod 
that  way  which  she  had  doubtless  often  trod  before  in 
her  annual  ascent  to  the  Temple.  Every  village,  every 
brook,  every  hill,  must  have  awakened  in  her  some  sad 
recollection  of  the  olden  days  of  her  people.  There 
was  Tabor,  from  which  came  down  Barak  and  his  men. 


22  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

And  in  the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon  he  fought  Sisera. 
The  waters  of  Kishon,  murmuring  at  her  feet,  must 
have  recalled  the  song  of  Deborah.  Here,  too,  Josiah 
was  slain  at  Megiddo,  and  "  the  mourning  of  Hadad- 
Rimmon  hi  the  valley  of  Megiddon "  became  the  by- 
word of  grief  Mount  Gilboa  rose  upon  her  from  the 
east.  Ebal  and  Gerizim  stood  forth  in  remembrance 
of  the  sublime  drama  of  blessings  and  cursings.  Then 
came  Shechem,  the  paradise  of  Palestine,  in  whose 
neighborhood  Joseph  was  buried.  This  pilgrim  may 
have  quenched  her  thirst  at  noonday,  as  afterwards 
her  son  did,  at  the  well  of  Jacob ;  and  farther  to  the 
south  it  might  be  that  the  oak  of  Mamre,  under  which 
the  patriarch  dwelt,  cast  its  great  shadow  upon  her. 

It  is  plain  from  the  song  of  Mary,  of  which  we  shall 
speak  in  a  moment,  that  she  bore  in  mind  the  his- 
tory of  the  mother  of  Samuel,  wife  of  Elkanah,  who 
dwelt  in  this  region,  and  whose  song,  at  the  presenta- 
tion of  Samuel  to  the  priest  at  Sliiioh,  seems  to  have 
been  the  mould  in  which  Mary  unconsciously  cast  her 
own. 

Thus,  one  after  another,  Mary  must  have  passed  the 
most  memorable  spots  in  her  people's  history.  Even 
if  not  sensitive  to  patriotic  influences,  —  still  more  if 
she  was  alive  to  such  sacred  and  poetic  associations, — 
she  must  have  come  to  her  relative  Elisabeth  with 
flaming  heart. 

Well  she  might !  What  other  mystery  in  human  life 
is  so  profound  as  the  beginning  of  life  ?  From  the 
earliest  days  women  have  called  themselves  blessed  of 
God  when  life  begins  to  palpitate  within  their  bosom. 
It  is  not  education,  but  nature,  that  inspires  such  tender 
amazement.     Doubtless   even   the   Indian  woman   in 


THE  OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS.  23 

such  periods  dwells  consciously  near  to  the  Great 
Spirit!  Every  one  of  a  deep  nature  seems  to  herself 
more  sacred  and  more  especially  under  the  divine 
care  while  a  new  Hfe,  moulded  by  the  divine  hand,  is 
sprmging  into  being.  For,  of  all  creative  acts,  none 
is  so  sovereign  and  divine.  Who  shall  reveal  the  end- 
less musings,  the  perpetual  prophecies,  of  the  mother's 
soul  ?  Her  thoughts  dwell  upon  the  unknown  child,  — 
thoughts  more  in  number  than  the  ripples  of  the  sea 
upon  some  undiscovered  shore.  To  others,  in  such 
hours,  woman  should  seem  more  sacred  than  the  most 
solemn  temple ;  and  to  herself  she  must  needs  seem 
as  if  overshadowed  by  the  Holy  Ghost! 

To  this  natural  elevation  were  added,  in  the  instance 
of  Mary  and  Elisabeth,  those  vague  but  exalted  expec- 
tations arising  from  the  angelic  annunciations.  Both 
of  them  believed  that  the  whole  future  condition  of 
their  nation  was  to  be  intimately  affected  by  the  lives 
of  their  sons. 

And  Mary  said  :  — 

"  My  soul  dotli  magnify  the  Lord, 
And  my  spirit  liath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour. 
For  lie  hatli  regarded  the  low  estate  of  his  handmaiden  ; 
For,  behold,  fi-om  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed. 
For  He  that  is  mighty  hath  done  to  me  great  things ; 
And  holy  is  his  name. 
And  his  mercy  is  on  them  that  fear  him 
From  generation  to  generation. 
He  hath  shewed  strength  with  his  arm  ; 

He  hath  scattered  the  proud  in  the  imagination  of  their  hearts. 
He  hath  put  down  the  mighty  from  their  seats, 
And  exalted  them  of  low  degree. 
He  hath  filled  the  hungry  with  good  things ; 
And  the  rich  he  hath  sent  empty  away. 
He  hath  holpen  his  servant  Israel, 
In  remembrance  of  his  mercy ; 
As  he  spake  to  our  fathers, 
To  Abraham,  and  to  his  seed  forever." 


24  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

Unsjnnpathizing  critics  remark  upon  the  similarity 
of  this  chant  of  Mary's  with  the  song  of  Hannah/  the 
mother  of  Samuel.  Inspiration  served  to  kindle  the 
materials  already  in  possession  of  the  mind.  This 
Hebrew  maiden  had  stored  her  imagination  with  the 
poetic  elements  of  the  Old  Testament.    But,  of  all  the 

*  "  My  heart  rejoiceth  in  the  Lord ; 
Aly  horn  is  exalted  in  the  Lord  ; 
My  mouth  is  enlarged  over  mine  enemies ; 
Because  I  rejoice  in  thy  salvation. 
There  is  none  holy  as  the  Lord ; 
For  there  is  none  beside  thee ; 
Neither  is  there  any  rock  like  our  God. 
Talk  no  more  so  exceeding  proudly  : 
Let  not  arrogancy  come  out  of  your  mouth  : 
For  the  Lord  is  a  God  of  knowledge, 
And  by  him  actions  are  weighed. 
The  bows  of  the  mighty  men  are  broken, 
And  they  that  stumbled  are  girded  with  strength. 
They  that  were  full  have  hired  out  themselves  for  bread  ; 
And  they  that  were  hungry  ceased  ; 
So  that  the  barren  hath  borne  seven; 
And  she  that  hath  many  children  is  waxed  feeble. 
The  Lord  killeth,  and  maketh  alive  : 
He  bringeth  down  to  the  grave,  and  bringeth  up. 
The  Lord  maketh  poor,  and  maketh  rich : 
He  bringeth  low,  and  lifteth  up. 
He  raiseth  up  the  poor  out  of  the  dust. 
And  lifteth  up  the  beggar  from  the  dunghill, 
To  set  them  among  princes. 
And  to  make  them  inherit  the  throne  of  glory : 
For  the  pillars  of  the  earth  are  the  Lord's, 
And  he  hath  set  the  world  upon  them. 
He  will  keep  the  feet  of  his  saints. 
And  the  wicked  shall  be  silent  in  darkness : 
For  by  strength  shall  no  man  prevail. 
Tlie  adversaries  of  the  Lord  shall  be  broken  to  pieces ; 
Out  of  heaven  shall  he  thunder  upon  them  : 
The  Lord  shall  judge  the  ends  of  the  earth; 
And  he  shall  give  strength  unto  his  lung. 
And  exalt  the  horn  of  his  Anointed." 


THE   OVERTURE   OF  ANGELS.  ^5 

treasures  at  command,  only  a  devout  and  grateful  na- 
ture would  have  made  so  unselfish  a  selection.  For  it  is 
not  upon  her  own  blessedness  that  Mary  chiefly  dwells, 
but  upon  the  sovereignty,  the  goodness,  and  the  glory 
of  God.  To  be  exalted  by  the  joy  of  our  personal 
prosperity  above  self-consciousness  into  the  atmos- 
phere of  thanksgiving  and  adoration,  is  a  sure  sign  of 
nobility  of  soul. 

For  three  months  these  sweet  and  noble  women 
dwelt  together,  performing,  doubtless,  the  simple  labors 
of  the  household.  Their  thoughts,  their  converse,  their 
employments,  must  be  left  wholly  to  the  imagination. 
And  yet,  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  curious  in  regard  to 
these  hidden  days  of  Judcea,  when  the  mother  of  our 
Lord  was  already  fashioning  that  sacred  form  which,  in 
due  time,  not  far  from  her  residence,  perhaps  within  the 
very  sight  of  it,  was  to  be  lifted  up  upon  the  cross. 
But  it  is  a  research  which  we  have  no  means  of 
pursuing.  Her  thoughts  must  be  impossible  to  us, 
as  our  thoughts  of  her  son  were  impossible  to  her. 
No  one  can  look  forward,  even  in  the  spirit  of  proph- 
ecy, to  see  after-things  in  all  their  fulness  as  they 
shall  be  ;  nor  can  one  who  has  known  go  back  again  to 
see  as  if  he  had  not  known. 

After  Mary's  return  to  Nazareth,  Elisabeth  was  de- 
livered of  a  son.  Following  the  custom  of  their  peo- 
ple, her  friends  would  have  named  him  after  his  father, 
but  the  mother,  mindful  of  the  name  given  by  the  an- 
gel, called  him  John.  An  appeal  was  made  to  the  priest 
— who  probably  was  deaf  as  well  as  dumb,  for  they  made 
signs  to  him  —  how  the  child  should  be  named.  Calling 
for  writing-materials,  he  surprised  them  all  by  naming 
him  as  his  wife  had,  —  John.     At  once  the  sign  ceased. 


26  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

His  lips  were  unsealed,  and  he  broke  forth  into  thanks- 
giving and  praise.  All  the  circumstances  conspired  to 
awaken  wonder  and  to  spread  throughout  the  neigh- 
borhood mysterious  expectations,  men  saying,  "What 
manner  of  child  shall  this  be  ?  " 

The  first  chapter  of  Luke  may  be  considered  as 
the  last  leaf  of  the  Old  Testament,  so  saturated  is  it 
with  the  heart  and  spirit  of  the  olden  times.  And  the 
song  of  Zacharias  clearly  reveals  the  state  of  feeling 
among  the  best  Jews  of  that  day.  Their  nation  was 
grievously  pressed  down  by  foreign  despotism.  Their 
people  were  scattered  through  the  world.  The  time 
was  exceedingly  dark,  and  the  promises  of  the  old 
prophets  served  by  contrast  to  make  their  present  dis- 
tress yet  darker.  We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to 
find  the  first  portion  of  Zacharias's  chant  sensitively 
recognizing  the  degradations  and  sufferings  of  his  peo- 
ple :  — 

"  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ; 
For  hciiatli  visited  and  redeemed  his  people, 
And  hath  raised  up  an  horn  of  salvation  for  us 
In  the  house  of  his  servant  David 
(As  he  spake  by  the  mouth  of  his  holy  prophets, 
Which  have  been  since  the  world  began)  ; 
That  we  should  be  saved  from  our  enemies, 
And  from  the  hand  of  all  that  hate  us  ; 
To  perform  the  mercy  promised  to  our  fathers, 
And  to  remember  his  holy  covenant, 
Tlie  oath  which  he  sware  to  our  father  Abraham, 
That  he  would  grant  unto  us, 

Thnt  we  being  delivered  out  of  the  hand  of  our  enemies 
!Miu;ht  serve  him  without  fear. 
In  liolinoss  and  righteousness  before  him, 
All  the  days  of  our  life." 

Then,  as  if  seized  with  a  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  be- 
holding the  relations  and  offices  of  his  son,  in  language 


THE  OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS.  27 

as  poetically  beautiful  as  it  is  spiritually  triumphant  lie 
exclaims :  — 

"  And  thou,  child,  shalt  be  called  the  prophet  of  the  Highest : 
For  thou  shalt  go  before  the  face  of  the  Lord  to  prepare  his  ways ; 
To  give  knowledge  of  salvation  unto  his  people 
By  the  remission  of  their  sins, 
Through  the  tender  mercy  of  our  God  ; 
"Whereby  the  day-spring  from  on  high  hath  visited  us, 
To  give  light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death. 
To  guide  our  feet  into  the  way  of  peace." 

Even  in  his  childhood  John  manifested  that  fulness 
of  nature  and  that  earnestness  which  afterwards  fitted 
him  for  his  mission.  He  "waxed  strong  in  spirit." 
He  did  not  mingle  in  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  men. 
As  one  who  bears  a  sensitive  conscience  and  refuses 
to  mingle  in  the  throng  of  men  of  low  morality,  he 
stood  apart  and  was  solitary.  He  "  was  in  the  deserts 
until  the  day  of  his  showing  unto  Israel." 

Mary  had  returned  to  Nazareth.  Although  Joseph, 
to  whom  she  was  betrothed,  was  descended  from 
David,  every  sign  of  royalty  had  died  out.  He  earned 
his  livelihood  by  working  in  wood,  probably  as  a  car- 
penter, though  the  word  applied  to  his  trade  admits  of 
much  larger  application.  Tradition  has  uniformly  rep- 
resented him  as  a  carpenter,  and  art  has  conformed  to 
tradition.  He  appears  but  on  the  threshold  of  the  his- 
tory. He  goes  to  Egypt,  returns  to  Nazareth,  and  is 
faintly  recognized  as  present  when  Jesus  was  twelve 
years  of  age.  But  nothing  more  is  heard  of  him.  If 
alive  when  his  reputed  son  entered  upon  public  min- 
istry, there  is  no  sign  of  it.  And  as  Mary  is  often 
mentioned  in  the  history  of  the  Lord's  mission,  it 
is  probable  that  Joseph  died  before  Jesus  entered 
upon  his  public  life.  He  is  called  a  just  man,  and  we 
know  that  he  was  humane.     For  when  he  perceived 


28  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

the  condition  of  his  betrothed  wife,  instead  of  press- 
ing to  its  full  rigor  the  Jewish  law  against  her,  he 
meant  quietly  and  without  harm  to  set  her  aside. 
When  in  a  vision  he  learned  the  truth,  he  took 
Mary  as  his  wife. 

In  the  thousand  pictures  of  the  Holy  Family,  Joseph 
is  represented  as  a  venerable  man,  standing  a  little  apart, 
lost  in  contemplation,  while  Mary  and  Elisabeth  caress 
the  child  Jesus.  In  this  respect.  Christian  art  has,  it  is 
probable,  rightly  represented  the  character  of  Joseph. 
He  was  but  a  shadow  on  the  canvas.  Such  men  are 
found  in  every  commimity,  —  gentle,  blameless,  mildly 
active,  but  exerting  no  positive  influence.  Except  in 
one  or  two  vague  implications,  he  early  disappears 
from  sight.  No  mention  is  made  of  his  death,  though 
he  must  have  deceased  long  before  Mary,  who  in  all 
our  Lord's  ministry  appears  alone.  He  reappears  in 
the  ecclesiastical  calendar  as  St.  Joseph,  simply  be- 
cause he  was  the  husband  of  Mary,  —  a  harmless 
saint,  mild  and  silent. 

An  imperial  order  having  issued  for  the  taxing  of 
the  whole  nation,  it  became  necessary  for  every  one, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  Jews,  to  repair  to  the 
city  where  he  belonged,  for  registration.^ 

'  It  is  needless  to  consider  the  difficulty  to  which  this  passage  has  given 
rise.  Josephus  states  that  Quirinius  (Cyrenius)  became  governor  of  Judrea 
after  the  death  of  Archelaus,  Herod's  son  and  heir,  and  so  some  eight  or 
ten  years  after  the  birth  of  Christ.  How  then  could  that  taxing  have 
brought  Joseph  from  Nazareth  to  Bethloliem  ?  The  immense  ingenuity 
■which  has  been  employed  to  solve  tliis  difliculty  will  scarcely  add  to  the 
value  of  hypothetical  historical  reasoning.  Especially  when  now,  at  length, 
it  is  ascertained  upon  grounds  almost  certain,  that  Quirinius  was  twice  gov- 
ernor of  Syria.  See  SchafT's  note  to  Lange's  Com.  (Luke,  pp.  32,  33),  and 
the  more  full  discussion  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  Art.  "  Cyrenius,"  and 
President  Woolscy's  addition  to  this  article  in  Hard  and  Houghton's  Amer- 
ican edition. 


THE  OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS.  29 

From  Nazareth  to  Bethlehem  was  about  eighty  miles. 
Travelling  slowly,  as  the  condition  of  Mary  required, 
they  would  probably  occupy  about  four  days  in  reach- 
ing their  destination.  Already  the  place  was  crowded 
with  others  brought  thither  on  the  same  errand.  They 
probably  sought  shelter  in  a  cottage,  for  "the  inn  was 
full,"  and  there  Mary  gave  birth  to  her  child. 

It  is  said  by  Luke  that  the  child  was  laid  in  a  man- 
ger, from  which  it  has  been  inferred  that  his  parents 
had  taken  refuge  in  a  stable.  But  tradition  asserts  that 
it  was^  a  cave,  such  as  abound  in  the  limestone  rock  of 
that  region,  and  are  used  both  for  sheltering  herds 
and,  sometimes,  for  human  residences.  The  precip- 
itous sides  of  the  rock  are  often  pierced  in  such  a  way 
that  a  cottage  built  near  might  easily  convert  an  ad- 
joining cave  to  the  uses  of  an  outbuilding. 

Caves  are  not  rare  in  Palestine,  as  with  us.  On  the 
contrary,  the  whole  land  seems  to  be  honeycombed 
with  them.  They  are,  and  have  been  for  ages,  used  for 
almost  every  purj)ose  which  architecture  supplies  in 
other  lands,  —  as  dwellings  for  the  living  and  sepul- 
chres for  the  dead,  as  shelter  for  the  household  and  for 
cattle  and  herds,  as  hidden  retreats  for  robbers,  and 
as  defensive  positions  or  rock-castles  for  soldiers. 
Travellers  make  them  a  refuge  when  no  better  inn  is 
at  hand.  They  are  shaped  into  reservoirs  for  water, 
or,  if  dry,  they  are  employed  as  granaries.  The  lime- 
stone of  the  region  is  so  porous  and  soft,  that  but  a 
little  labor  is  required  to  enlarge,  refashion,  and  adapt 
caves  to  any  desirable  purpose. 

Of  the  "  manger,"  or  "  crib,"  Thomson,  long  a  mis- 
sionary in  Palestine,  says :  "  It  is  common  to  find  two 
sides  of  the  one  room,  where  the  native  farmer  resides 


30  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

with  his  cattle,  fitted  up  with  these  mangers,  and  the  re- 
mainder elevated  about  two  feet  higher  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  fiimily.  The  mangers  are  built  of 
small  stones  and  mortar,  in  the  shape  of  a  box,  or, 
rather,  of  a  kneading-trough,  and  when  cleaned  up  and 
whitewashed,  as  they  often  are  in  summer,  they  do 
very  well  to  lay  little  babes  in.  Indeed,  our  own  chil- 
dren have  slept  there  in  our  rude  summer  retreats  on 
the  mountains."  ^ 

The  laying  of  the  little  babe  in  the  manger  is  not  to 
be  regarded  then  as  an  extraordinary  thing,  or  a  posi- 
tive hardship.  It  was  merely  subjecting  the  child  to 
a  custom  which  peasants  frequently  practised  with 
their  children.  Jesus  began  his  Hfe  with  and  as  the 
lowest. 

About  five  miles  south  of  Jerusalem,  and  crowning 
the  top  and  sides  of  a  narrow  ridge  or  spur  which 
shoots  out  eastwardly  from  the  central  mass  of  the 
Judaean  hills,  was  the  village  of  Bethlehem.  On  every 
side  but  the  western,  the  hill  breaks  down  abruptly 
into  deep  valleys.  The  steep  slopes  were  terraced  and 
cultivated  from  top  to  bottom.  A  little  to  the  east- 
ward is  a  kind  of  plain,  where  it  is  supposed  the  shep- 
herds, of  all  shepherds  that  ever  lived  now  the  most 
famous,  tended  their  flocks.  The  great  fruitfulness  of 
its  fields  is  supposed  to  have  given  to  Bethlehem  its 
name,  which  signifies  the  "  House  of  Bread."  Famous 
as  it  has  become,  it  was  but  a  hamlet  at  the  birth  of 
Jesus.  Here  King  David  was  born,  but  there  is  noth- 
ing to  indicate  that  he  retained  any  special  attachment 
to  the  place.     In  the  rugged  valleys  and  gorges  which 

'  Thomson's  Tlie  Land  and  the  Book,  Vol.  II.  p.  98. 


THE  OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS.  31 

abound  on  every  side,  he  had  watched  his  father's  flocks 
and  had  become  inured  to  danger  and  to  toil,  defend- 
ing his  charge  on  the  one  hand  against  wild  beasts,  and 
on  the  other  against  the  scarcely  less  savage  predatory 
tribes  that  infested  the  region  south  and  east.  From 
Bethlehem  one  may  look  out  upon  the  very  fields 
made  beautiful  forever  to  the  imagination  by  the 
charming  idyl  of  David's  ancestress,  Ruth  the  Moabitess. 
Changed  as  Bethlehem  itself  is,  which,  from  holding  a 
mere  handful  then,  has  a  population  now  of  some  four 
thousand,  customs  and  the  face  of  nature  remain  the 
same.  The  hills  are  terraced,  the  fields  are  tilled, 
flocks  are  tended  by  laborers  unchanged  in  garb,  work- 
ing with  the  same  kinds  of  implements,  having  the 
same  manners,  and  employing  the  same  salutations  as 
in  the  days  of  the  patriarchs. 

Were  Boaz  to  return  to-day,  he  would  hardly  see  an 
unfamiliar  thing  in  his  old  fields,  —  the  barley  harvest, 
the  reapers,  the  gleaners,  the  threshing-floors,  and  the 
rude  threshing,  —  all  are  there  as  they  were  thousands 
of  years  ago. 

At  the  season  of  our  Saviour's  advent,  the  nights 
were  soft  and  genial.^     It  was  no  hardship  for  rugged 

^  This  is  true,  whichever  date  shall  be  selected  of  the  many  which  have  been 
urged  by  different  learned  men.  But  further  than  this  there  is  no  cer- 
tainty. "  In  the  primitive  Church  there  was  no  agreement  as  to  the  time 
of  Christ's  birth.  In  the  East  the  6th  of  January  was  observed  as  the  day 
of  his  baptism  and  birth.  In  the  third  century,  as  Clement  of  Alexandria 
relates,  some  regarded  the  20th  of  May,  others  the  20th  of  April,  as  the 
birthday  of  our  Saviour.  Among  modern  chronologists  and  biographers  of 
Jesus  there  is  still  greater  difference  of  opinion,  and  every  month  —  even 
June  and  July  (when  the  fields  are  parched  from  want  of  rain)  —  has  been 
named  as  the  time  when  the  great  event  took  place.  Liglitfoot  assigns  the 
Nativity  to  September,  Lardner  and  Newcome  to  October,  Wioseler  to  Feb- 
ruary, Paulus  to  March,  Greswell  and  Alfera  to  the  5th  of  April,  just  after 
the  spring  rains,  when  there  is   an   abundance   of  pasture ;  Lichtenstein 


32  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

shepherds  to  spend  the  night  in  the  fields  with  their 
flocks.  By  day,  as  the  sheep  fed,  their  keepers  might 
while  away  their  time  -with  sights  and  sounds  along 
the  earth.  When  darkness  shut  in  the  scene,  the 
heavens  would  naturally  attract  their  attention.  Their 
eyes  had  so  long  kept  company  with  the  mysterious 
stars,  that,  doubtless,  like  shepherds  of  more  ancient 
times,  they  were  rude  astronomers,  and  had  grown 
familiar  with  the  planets,  and  knew  them  in  all  their 
courses.  But  there  came  to  them  a  night  surpassing 
all  nights  in  wonders.  Of  a  sudden  the  whole  heavens 
were  filled  with  light,  as  if  morning  were  come  upon 
midnight.  Out  of  this  splendor  a  single  voice  issued,  as 
of  a  choral  leader,  —  "  Behold,  I  bring  you  glad  tidings 
of  great  joy."  The  shepherds  were  told  of  the  Saviour's 
birth,  and  of  the  place  where  the  babe  might  be  found. 
Then  no  longer  a  single  voice,  but  a  host  in  heaven, 
was  heard  celebrating  the  event.  "  Suddenly  there  was 
with  the  angel  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  prais- 
ing God,  and  saying, 

*'  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
And  on  earth  peace,  good-will  toward  men." 

Raised  to  a  fervor  of  wonder,  these  children  of  the 
field  made  haste  to  find  the  babe,  and  to  make  known 
on  every  side  the  marvellous  vision.     Moved  by  this 

places  it  in  July  or  December,  Strong  in  August,  Robinson  in  antimin, 
Clinton  in  spring,  Andrews  between  the  middle  of  December,  749,  and  the 
middle  of  January,  750,  A.  U.  C.  On  the  other  hand,  Roman  Catholic  histo- 
rians and  biographers  of  Jesus,  as  Sepp,  Friedlieb,  Bucher,  Patritius,  and  also 
some  Protestant  writers,  defend  the  popular  tradition,  —  the  25th  of  De- 
cember. Wordsworth  gives  up  the  problem,  and  thinks  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
has  concealed  the  knowledge  of  the  year  and  day  of  Christ's  birth  and  the 
duration  of  his  ministry  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  to  teach  them  humil- 
ity."— Dr.  Schaff,  in  Lange's  Commentary  (Luke,  p.  36). 


THE   OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS.  33 

faith  to  worship  and  to  glorify  God,  they  were  thus 
unconsciously  the  earliest  disciples  and  the  first  evan- 
gelists, for  "  they  made  known  abroad  the  saying  which 
was  told  them  concerning  this  child." 

In  beautiful  contrast  with  these  rude  exclamatory 
worshippers,  the  mother  is  described  as  silent  and 
thoughtful.  "  Mary  kept  all  these  things  and  pon- 
dered them  in  her  heart."  If  no  woman  comes  to 
herself  until  she  loves,  so,  it  may  be  said,  she  knows 
not  how  to  love  until  her  firstrborn  is  in  her  arms. 
Sad  is  it  for  her  who  does  not  feel  herself  made 
sacred  by  motherhood.  That  heart-pondering!  Who 
may  tell  the  thoughts  which  rise  from  the  deep  places 
of  an  inspired  love,  more  in  number  and  more  beauti- 
ful than  the  particles  of  vapor  which  the  sun  draws 
from  the  surface  of  the  sea? 

Intimately  as  a  mother  must  feel  that  her  babe  is 
connected  with  her  own  body,  e"<^en  more  she  is  wont 
to  feel  that  her  child  comes  direct  from  God.  God- 
given  is  a  familiar  name  in  every  language.  Not  from 
her  Lord  came  this  child  to  Mary.  It  was  her  Lord 
himself  that  came. 

A  sweet  and  trusting  faith  in  God,  childlike  simplicity, 
and  profound  love  seem  to  have  formed  the  nature  of 
Mary.  She  may  be  accepted  as  the  type  of  Christian 
motherhood.  In  this  view,  and  excluding  the  dogma 
of  her  immaculate  nature,  and  still  more  emphatically 
that  of  any  other  participation  in  divinity  than  that 
which  is  common  to  all,  we  may  receive  with  pleasure 
the  stores  of  exquisite  pictures  with  which  Christian 
art  has  filled  its  realm.  The  "  Madonnas  "  are  so  many 
tributes   to   the   beauty  and  dignity  of  motherhood; 


34  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

and  they  may  stand  so  interpreted,  now  that  the 
Buperstitious  associations  which  they  have  had  are  so 
wholly  worn  away.  At  any  rate,  the  Protestant  re- 
action from  Mary  has  gone  far  enough,  and,  on  our 
own  grounds,  we  may  well  have  our  share  also  in  the 
memory  of  this  sweet  and  noble  woman. 

The  same  reason  which  led  our  Lord  to  clothe  him- 
self with  llesh  made  it  proper,  when  he  was  born,  to 
have  fulfilled  upon  him  all  the  customs  of  his  people. 
He  was  therefore  circumcised  when  eight  days  old,  and 
presented  in  the  Temple  on  the  fortieth  day,  at  which 
period  his  mother  had  completed  the  time  appointed  for 
her  purification.  The  offering  required  was  a  lamb  and 
a  dove;  but  if  the  parents  were  poor,  then  two  doves. 
Mary's  humble  condition  was  indicated  by  the  offering 
of  two  doves.  And  yet,  if  she  had  heard  the  exclama- 
tion of  John  after  the  Lord's  baptism,  years  afterwards, 
she  might  have  perceived  that,  in  spite  of  her  poverty, 
she  had  brought  the  Lamb,  divine  and  precious ! 

Surprise  upon  surprise  awaited  Mary.  There  dwelt 
at  Jerusalem,  Avrapped  in  his  own  devout  and  longing 
thoughts,  a  great  nature,  living  contentedly  in  obscurity, 
Simeon  by  name.  This  venerable  man  seized  the  child 
with  holy  rapture,  when  it  was  presented  in  the  Tcmjole, 
and  broke  forth  in  the  very  spirit  of  a  prophet :  — 

"  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
According  to  thy  word  : 
For  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation, 
Which  thou  hast  prepared  before  the  face  of  all  people; 
A  Ii;j;ht  to  lighten  the  Gentiles, 
And  the  glory  of  tliy  people  Israel." 

Both  Mary  and  Joseph  were  amazed,  but  there  was 
something  in  Mary's  appearance  that  drew  this  inspired 


THE  OVERTURE   OF  ANGELS.  35 

old  man  specially  to  her,     "  Behold,  this  child  is  set  for 

the  fall  and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel Yea, 

a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thme  own  soul  also." 

As  the  asters,  among  plants,  go  all  summer  long  un- 
beautiful,  their  flowers  hidden  within,  and  burst  into 
bloom  at  the  very  end  of  summer  and  in  late  autumn, 
with  the  frosts  upon  their  heads,  so  this  aged  saint  had 
blossomed,  at  the  close  of  a  long  life,  into  this  noble 
ecstasy  of  joy.  In  a  stormy  time,  when  outward  life 
moves  wholly  against  one's  wishes,  he  is  truly  great 
whose  soul  becomes  a  sanctuary  in  which  patience 
dwells  with  hope.  In  one  hour  Simeon  received  full 
satisfaction  for  the  yearnings  of  many  years  ! 

Among  the  Jews,  more  perhaps  than  in  any  other 
Oriental  nation,  woman  was  permitted  to  develop  natr 
urally,  and  liberty  was  accorded  her  to  participate 
in  things  which  other  people  reserved  with  zealous  se- 
clusion for  men.  Hebrew  women  were  prophetesses, 
teachers  (2  Kings  xxii.  14),  judges,  queens.  The  ad- 
vent of  our  Saviour  was  hailed  appropriately  by 
woman,  —  Anna,  the  prophetess,  joining  with  Simeon 
in  praise  and  thanksgiving. 

But  other  witnesses  were  preparing.  Already  the 
footsteps  of  strangers  afar  off  were  advancing  toward 
JudD3a.  Erelong  Jerusalem  was  thrown  into  an  excite- 
ment by  the  arrival  of  certain  sages,  probably  from 
Persia.  The  city,  like  an  uneasy  volcano,  was  always  on 
the  eve  of  an  eruption.  When  it  was  known  that  these 
pilgrims  had  come  to  inquire  about  a  king,  Avho,  they 
believed,  had  been  born,  a  king  of  the  Jews,  the  news 
excited  both  the  city  and  the  palace,  —  hope  in  one, 
fear  in  the  other,  Herod  dreaded  a  rival.  The  Jews 
longed  for  a  native  prince  whose  arm  'should  expel  the 


36  TEE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

intrusive  government.  No  wonder  that  "  Herod  was 
troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him."  He  first  sum- 
moned the  Jewish  scholars,  to  knoAV  where,  according  to 
their  jDrophets,  the  Messiah  was  to  be  born.  Bethle- 
hem was  the  place  of  prediction.  Next,  he  summoned 
the  Magi,  secretly,  to  learn  of  them  at  what  time  the 
revealing  star  had  appeared  to  them,  and  then,  craftily 
veiling  his  cruel  purposes  with  an  assumed  interest,  he 
charges  them,  when  the  child  was  found,  to  let  him  be 
a  worshipper  too ! 

The  same  star  which  had  drawn  their  footsteps  to 
Jerusalem  now  guided  the  wise  men  to  the  very  place 
of  Jesus'  birth. 

What  was  this  star  ?  All  that  can  be  known  is,  that 
it  was  some  appearance  of  light  in  the  sky,  which  by 
these  Oriental  philosophers  was  supposed  to  indicate  a 
great  event.  Ingenuity  has  unnecessarily  been  exer- 
cised to  prove  that  at  about  this  time  there  was  a  con- 
junction of  three  planets.  But  did  the  same  thing 
happen  again,  after  their  arrival  at  Jerusalem  ?  For 
it  is  stated  that,  on  their  leaving  the  city  to  go  to  Beth- 
lehem, "  lo,  the  star  which  they  saw  in  the  east  went 
before  them  till  it  came  and  stood  over  where  the  young 
child  was."  How  could  a  planetary  conjunction  stand 
over  a  particular  house  ?  It  is  evident  that  the  sidereal 
guide  was  a  globe  of  light,  divinely  ordered  and  ap- 
pointed for  this  work.  It  was  a  miracle.  That  nature 
is  but  an  organized  outworking  of  the  divine  will,  that 
God  is  not  limited  to  ordinary  law  in  the  production  of 
results,  that  he  can,  and  that  he  does,  produce  events  by 
the  direct  force  of  his  will  without  the  ordinary  instru- 
ments of  nature,  is  the  very  spirit  of  the  whole  Bible. 

These  gleams  of  immediate  power  flash  through  in 


THE  OVERTURE   OF  ANGELS.  '  37 

every  age.  The  superiority  of  spiritual  power  over 
sensuous,  is  the  ilkiminating  truth  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  gospels  should  be  taken  or  rejected  unmu- 
tilated.  The  disciples  plucked  the  wheat-heads,  and, 
rubbing  them  in  their  hands,  they  ate  the  grain.  But 
our  sceptical  believers  take  from  the  New  Testament  its 
supernatural  element,  —  rub  out  the  wheat,  —  and  eat 
the  chaff.  There  is  consistency  in  one  who  sets  the 
gospels  aside  on  the  ground  that  they  are  not  inspired, 
that  they  are  not  even  historical,  that  they  are  growths 
of  the  imaorination,  and  covered  all  over  with  the 
parasites  of  superstition;  but  in  one  who  professes  to 
accept  the  record  as  an  inspired  history,  the  disposition 
to  pare  miracles  down  to  a  scientific  shape,  to  find 
their  roots  in  natural  laws,  is  neither  reverent  nor 
sagacious.  Miracles  are  to  be  accepted  boldly  or  not 
at  all.  They  are  jewels,  and  sparkle  with  divine  light, 
or  they  are  nothing. 

This  guide  of  the  Magi  was  a  light  kindled  in  the 
heavens  to  instruct  and  lead  those  whose  eyes  were 
prepared  to  receive  it.  If  the  vision  of  angels  and  the 
extraordinary  conception  of  the  Virgin  are  received  as 
miraculous,  it  ought  not  to  be  difficult  to  accept  the 
star  seen  from  the  east  as  a  miracle  also. 

The  situation  of  the  child  ill  befitted  Oriental  notions 
of  a  king's  dignity.  But  under  the  divine  influence 
which  rested  upon  the  Magi,  they  doubtless  saw  more 
than  the  outward  circumstances.  Humble  as  the  place 
was,  poor  as  his  parents  evidently  were,  and  he  a  mere 
babe,  they  fell  down  before  him  in  w^orship,  and  pre- 
sented princely  gifts,  "  gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh." 
Instead  of  returning  to  Herod,  they  went  back  to  their 
own  country. 


38  TUE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

And  now  it  was  time  for  Joseph  to  look  well  to  his 
safety.  If  there  was  to  be  a  king  in  Israel,  he  was  to 
come  from  the  house  of  David,  and  Joseph  was  of  that 
stock,  and  his  child,  Jesus,  was  royal  too.  Herod's 
jealousy  was  aroused.  He  was  not  a  man  wont  to 
miss  the  fulfilment  of  any  desire  on  account  of  hu- 
mane or  moral  scruples.  The  return  of  the  Magi  with- 
out giving  him  the  knowledge  which  he  sought  seemed 
doubtless  to  the  king  like  another  step  in  a  plot  to  sub- 
vert his  throne.  He  determined  to  make  thorough  work 
of  this  nascent  peril,  "  and  sent  forth  and  slew  all  the 
children  that  were  in  Bethlehem,  and  in  all  the  coasts 
thereof,  fiom  two  years  old  and  under."  He  put  the 
limit  of  age  at  a  period  which  would  make  it  sure  that 
the  new-born  king  of  the  Jews  would  be  included. 

It  has  been  objected  to  the  probable  truth  of  this 
statement,  that  such  an  event  could  hardly  fail  to  be 
recorded  by  secular  historians,  and  especially  by  Jose- 
phus,  who  narrates  the  contemporaneous  history  with 
much  minuteness.  But  this  event  is  far  more  striking 
upon  our  imagination  now,  than  it  was  likely  to  be 
upon  the  attention  of  men  then.  For,  as  Bethlehem 
was  a  mere  hamlet,  with  but  a  handful  of  people,  it  has 
been  computed  that  not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  chil- 
dren could  have  perished  by  this  merciless  edict.  Be- 
sides, what  was  such  an  act  as  this,  in  a  life  stored  full 
of  abominable  cruelties  ?  "  He  who  had  immolated  a 
cherished  wife,  a  brother,  and  three  sons  to  his  jealous 
suspicions,  and  who  ordered  a  general  massacre  for  the 
day  of  his  funeral,  so  that  his  body  should  not  be  borne 
to  the  earth  amidst  general  rejoicings,"  may  easily  be 
supposed  to  have  filled  up  the  spaces  with  minor  cruel- 
ties  which  escaped  record.     But  here  is  an  historical 


THE  OVERTURE   OF  ANGELS.  39 

record.  It  is  no  impeachment  of  its  truth  to  aver  that 
there  is  no  other  history  of  it.  Until  some  disproof  is 
alleged,  it  must  stand. 

Stirred  by  a  divine  impulse,  Joseph  had  already  re- 
moved the  child  from  dan-i-er.    Whither  should  he  flee? 

O 

Egypt  was  not  distant,  and  the  roads  thither  were  easy 
and  much  frequented.  Thither  too,  from  time  to  time, 
exiled  for  various  reasons,  had  resorted  numbers  of 
Jews,  so  that,  though  in  a  foreign  land,  he  would  be 
among  his  own  countrymen,  all  interested  alike  in  hat- 
ing the  despotic  cruelty  of  Herod.  There  is  no  record 
of  the  place  of  Joseph's  sojourn  in  Egypt.  Tradition, 
always  uncertain,  places  it  at  Matarea,  near  Leontopolis, 
where  subsequently  the  Jewish  temple  of  Onias  stood. 
His  stay  was  probably  brief  For,  within  two  or 
three  weeks  of  the  foregoing  events,  Herod  died. 
Joseph  did  not  return  to  Bethlehem,  though  he  de- 
sired to  do  so,  but  was  warned  of  God  in  a  dream 
of  his  danger.  It  was  probable  that  Archelaus,  who 
succeeded  to  Herod  in  Judcea,  would  be  as  suspicious 
of  danger  from  an  heir  royal  of  the  house  of  David  as 
his  father  had  been ;  so  Joseph  passed  —  it  may  be 
by  way  of  the  sea-coast  —  northward,  to  Nazareth, 
whence  a  few  months  before  he  had  removed. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  we  shall  revert  to  one 
of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  period  thus  far 
passed  over,  namely,  the  ministration  of  angels.  The  belief 
in  the  existence  of  heavenly  beings  who  in  some  man- 
ner are  concerned  in  the  affairs  of  men,  has  existed 
from  the  earliest  periods  of  which  we  have  a  history. 
This  faith  is  peculiarly  grateful  to  the  human  heart, 
and,  though  it  has  never  been  received  with  favor  by 


40  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

men  addicted  to  jDurely  physical  studies,  it  has  been 
entertamed  by  the  Church  with  fond  faith  and  by  the 
common  people  with  the  enthusiasm  of  sjinpathy. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  follow  the  line  of  develop- 
ment in  the  animal  kingdom,  and  to  witness  the  grada- 
tions on  the  ascending  scale,  unfolding  steadily,  rank 
above  rank,  until  man  is  reached,  without  having  the 
presumption  awakened  that  there  are  intelligences 
above  man,  —  creatures  which  rise  as  much  above  him 
as  he  above  the  inferior  animals. 

When  the  word  of  God  announces  the  ministration 
of  angels,  records  their  early  visits  to  this  planet,  repre- 
sents them  as  bending  over  the  race  in  benevolent 
sympathy,  bearing  warnings,  consolations,  and  messages 
of  wisdom,  the  heart  receives  the  doctrine  even  against 
the  cautions  of  a  sceptical  reason. 

Our  faith  might  be  put  to  shame  if  the  scriptural 
angels  bore  any  analogy  to  those  of  the  rude  and  puerile 
histories  contained  in  apocryphal  books.  But  the  long 
hue  of  heavenly  visitants  shines  in  unsullied  brightness 
as  high  above  the  beliefs  and  prejudices  of  an  early  age 
as  the  stars  are  above  the  vapors  and  dust  of  earth. 
While  patriarchs,  prophets,  and  apostles  show  all  the 
deficiencies  of  their  own  period  and  are  stained  with 
human  passions,  the  angelic  beings,  judged  by  the  most 
fastidious  requirements  of  these  later  ages,  are  without 
spot  or  blemish.  They  are  not  made  up  of  human 
traits  idealized.  They  are  unworldly,  —  of  a  different 
type,  of  nobler  presence,  and  of  far  grander  and 
sweeter  natures  than  any  living  on  earth. 

The  angels  of  the  oldest  records  are  like  the  angels 
of  the  latest.  The  Hebrew  thouo^ht  had  moved  throuij^h 
a  vast  arc  of  the  infinite  cycle  of  truth  between  the  days 


THE  OVERTURE  OF  ANGELS.  4^' 

when  Abraham  came  from  Ur  of  Chaklosa  and  the  times 
of  our  Lord's  stay  on  earth.  But  there  is  no  develop- 
ment in  angels  of  later  over  those  of  an  earlier  date. 
They  were  as  beautiful,  as  spiritual,  as  pure  and 
noble,  at  the  beginning  as  at  the  close  of  the  old  dis- 
pensation. Can  such  creatures,  transcending  earthly 
experience,  and  far  outrunning  anything  in  the  life  of 
man,  be  creations  of  the  rude  ages  of  the  human  under- 
standing ? 

We  could  not  imagine  the  Advent  stripped  of  its  an- 
gelic lore.  The  dawn  without  a  twilight,  the  sun  with- 
out clouds  of  silver  and  gold,  the  morning  on  the  fields 
without  dew-diamonds,  —  but  not  the  Saviour  without 
his  angels  !  They  shine  within  the  Temple,  they  bear 
to  the  matchless  mother  a  message  which  would  have 
been  disgrace  from  mortal  lips,  but  which  from  theirs 
fell  upon  her  as  pure  as  dew-drops  upon  the  lilies  of 
the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  They  communed  with  the 
Saviour  in  his  glory  of  transfiguration,  sustained  him 
in  the  anguish  of  the  garden,  watched  at  the  tomb ;  and 
as  they  had  thronged  the  earth  at  his  coming,  so  they 
seem  to  have  hovered  in  the  air  in  multitudes  at  the 
hour  of  his  ascension.  Beautiful  as  they  seem,  they 
are  never  mere  poetic  adornments.  The  occasions  of 
their  appearing  are  grand.  The  reasons  are  weighty. 
Their  demeanor  suggests  and  befits  the  highest  con- 
ception of  superior  beings.  These  are  the  very  ele- 
ments that  a  rude  age  could  not  fashion.  Could  a 
sensuous  age  invent  an  order  of  beings,  which,  touch- 
ing the  earth  from  a  heavenly  height  on  its  most  mo- 
mentous occasions,  could  still,  after  ages  of  culture  had 
refined  the  human  taste  and  moral  appreciation,  remain 
ineffably  superior  in  dehcacy,  in  pure   spirituality,  to 


42  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CnRIST. 

the  demands  of  criticism  ?  Their  very  coming  and 
going  is  not  with  earthly  movement.  They  suddenly 
are  seen  in  the  air  as  one  sees  white  clouds  round 
out  from  the  blue  sky,  in  a  summer's  day,  that  melt 
back  even  while  one  looks  upon  them.  They  vibrate 
between  the  visible  and  the  invisible.  They  come 
without  motion.  They  go  without  flight.  They  dawn 
and  disappear.  Their  words  are  few,  but  the  Advent 
Chorus  3^et  is  sounding  its  music  through  the  world. 

A  part  of  the  angelic  ministration  is  to  be  looked  for 
in  what  men  are  by  it  incited  to  do.  It  helps  the  mind 
to  populate  heaven  with  spiritual  inhabitants.  The 
imagination  no  longer  translates  thither  the  gross 
corporeity  of  this  life.  We  suspect  that  few  of  us 
are  aware  how  much  our  definite  conceptions  of  spirit- 
life  are  the  product  of  the  angel-lore  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  only  in  Luke  is  the  history 
of  the  angelic  annunciation  given.  It  is  to  Luke  also 
that  we  are  indebted  for  the  record  of  the  angels  at 
the  tomb  on  the  morning  of  the  resurrection.  Luke 
has  been  called  the  Evangelist  of  Greece.  He  was 
Paul's  companion  of  travel,  and  particularly  among  the 
Greek  cities  of  Asia  Minor.  This  suggests  the  fact 
that  the  angelic  ministration  commemorated  in  the 
New  Testament  would  greatly  facilitate  among  Greeks 
the  reception  of  monotheism.  Comforting  to  us  as  is 
the  doctrine  of  angels,  it  can  hardly  be  of  the  same 
help  as  it  was  to  a  Greek  or  to  a  Roman  when  he  first 
accepted  the  Christian  faith.  The  rejection  of  so  many 
divinities  must  have  left  the  fields,  the  mountains,  the 
cities  and  temples  very  bare  to  all  who  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  heathen  mythology.  The  ancients  seem  to 
have  striven  to  express  universal  divine  presence  by 


THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST.  43 

multiplying  their  gods.  This  at  least  had  the  effect  of 
giving  life  to  every  part  of  nature.  The  imaginative 
Greek  had  grown  familiar  with  the  thought  of  gods 
innumerable.  Every  stream,  each  grove,  the  caves,  the 
fields,  the  clouds,  suggested  some  divine  person.  It 
would  be  almost  impossible  to  strip  such  a  one  of  those 
fertile  suggestions  and  tie  him  to  the  simple  doctrine 
of  One  God,  without  producing  a  sense  of  cheerless- 
ness  and  solitude.  Ang-els  come  in  to  make  for  him  an 
easy  transition  from  polytheism  to  monotheism.  The 
air  might  still  be  populous,  his  imagination  yet  be  full 
of  teeming  suggestions,  but  no  longer  with  false  gods. 
Now  there  was  to  him  but  one  God,  but  He  was 
served  by  multitudes  of  blessed  spirits,  children  of 
light  and  glory.  Instead  of  a  realm  of  conflicting 
divinities  there  was  a  household,  the  Father  looking 
in  benignity  upon  his  radiant  family.  Thus,  again,  to 
the  Greek,  as  to  the  Patriarch,  angels  ascended  and  de- 
scended the  steps  that  lead  from  earth  to  heaven. 


44  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST, 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    DOCTRINAL    BASIS. 

Before  we  enter  upon  the  childhood  of  Jesus,  and, 
with  still  more  reason,  before  we  enter  upon  his  adult 
life,  it  is  necessary  to  form  some  idea  of  his  original 
nature.  No  one  conversant  with  the  ideas  on  this 
point  which  fill  the  Christian  world  can  avoid  taking 
sides  with  one  or  another  of  the  philosophical  views 
which  have  divided  the  Church.  Even  mere  readers, 
who  seem  to  themselves  uncommitted  to  any  doctrine 
of  the  nature  of  Christ,  are  unconsciously  in  sym- 
pathy with  some  theory.  But  to  draw  up  a  history 
of  Christ  without  some  pilot-idea  is  impossible.  Every 
fact  in  the  narrative  will  take  its  color  and  form  from 
the  philosophy  around  which  it  is  grouped. 

Was  Jesus,  then,  one  of  those  gifted  men  who  have 
from  time  to  time  arisen  in  the  world,  differing  from 
their  fellows  only  in  pre-eminence  of  earthly  power,  in 
a  fortunate  temperament,  and  a  happy  balance  of  facul- 
ties? Was  he  simply  and  only  an  extraordinary  Man? 
This  view  was  early  taken,  and  as  soon  vehemently 
combated.  But  it  has  never  ceased  to  be  held.  It 
reappears  in  every  age.  And  it  has  special  hold  upon 
thoughtful  minds  to-day ;  at  least,  upon  such  thoughtr 
ful  minds  as  are  imbued  with  the  present  spirit  of  ma- 
terial science.  The  physical  laws  of  nature,  we  are 
told,  are  invariable  and  constant,  and  all  true  knowl- 


THE  DOCTRINAL  BASIS.  45 

edge  is  the  product  of  the  observation  of  such  laws. 
This  view  will  exclude,  not  only  miracles,  the  divine 
inspiration  of  holy  men  of  old,  and  the  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  but,  if  honestly  followed  to  its  proper 
consequences,  it  will  destroy  the  grounds  on  which 
stand  the  belief  of  the  unmortality  of  the  soul  and 
of  the  existence  of  angels  and  spirits ;  and,  finally 
and  fatally,  it  will  deny  the  validity  of  all  eviden- 
ces of  the  existence  and  government  of  God.  And 
we  accordingly  find  that,  on  the  Euroj)ean  continent 
and  in  England,  the  men  of  some  recent  schools  of 
science,  without  denying  the  existence  of  an  intelli- 
gent, personal  God,  deny  that  there  is,  or  can  be,  any 
human  hioivledge  of  the  fact.  The  nature  of  the  hu- 
man mind,  and  the  laws  under  which  all  kno^vledge  is 
gained,  it  is  taught,  prevent  our  knowing  with  cer- 
tainty anything  beyond  the  reach  of  the  senses  and  of 
personal  consciousness.  God  is  the  Unknown,  and 
the  life  beyond  this  the  Unknowable.  There  are 
many  inclining  to  this  position  who  would  be  shocked 
at  the  results  to  which  it  logically  leads.  But  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how  one  can  reject  miracles,  as  philo- 
sophically impossible,  except  upon  grounds  of  mate- 
rialistic science  which  lead  irresistibly  to  veiled  or 
overt  atheism. 

The  Lives  of  Christ  which  have  been  written  from 
the  purely  humanitarian  view  have  not  been  without 
their  benefits.  They  have  brought  the  historical  ele- 
ments of  his  life  into  clearer  light,  have  called  back 
the  mind  from  speculative  and  imaginative  efforts  in 
spiritual  directions,  and  have  given  to  a  dim  and  dis- 
tant idea  the  clearness  and  reality  of  a  fact.  Like 
some   old   picture   of  the  masters,   the   Gospels,    ex- 


46  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   TUE   CHRIST. 

posed  to  the  dust  and  smoke  of  superstition,  to  re- 
varnishing  glosses  and  retouching  philosophies,  in  the 
sight  of  many  had  lost  their  original  brightness  and 
beauty.  The  rationalistic  school  has  done  much  to  re- 
move these  false  surfaces,  and  to  bring  back  to  the  eye 
the  original  picture  as  it  was  laid  upon  the  canvas. 

But,  this  work  ended,  every  step  beyond  has  been 
mischievous.  The  genius  of  the  Gospels  has  been  cru- 
cified to  a  theory  of  Christ's  humanity.  The  canons 
of  historical  criticism  have  been  adojDted  or  laid  aside 
as  the  exigencies  of  the  special  theory  required.  The 
most  lawless  fancy  has  been  called  in  to  correct  the 
alleged  fancifalness  of  the  evangelists.  Not  only  has 
the  picture  been  "  restored,"  but  the  pigments  have 
been  taken  off,  reground,  and  laid  on  again  by  mod- 
ern hands.  A  new  head,  a  different  countenance, 
appears.  They  found  a  God  :  they  have  left  a  feeble 
man  ! 

Dissatisfied  with  the  barrenness  of  this  school, 
which  leaves  nothing  upon  which  devotion  may  fas- 
ten, another  class  of  thinkers  have  represented  Jesus 
as  more  than  human,  but  as  less  than  divine.  \Yhat 
that  being  is  to  whose  kind  Jesus  belongs,  they  cannot 
tell.  Theirs  is  a  theory  of  compromise.  It  adopts 
the  obscure  as  a  means  of  hid  ins:  definite  difficulties. 
It  admits  the  grandeur  of  Christ's  nature,  and  the 
sublimity  of  his  life  and  teachings.  It  exalts  him 
above  angels,  but  not  to  the  level  of  the  Throne. 
It  leaves  him  in  that  wide  and  mysterious  space  that 
lies  between  the  finite  and  the  infinite. 

The  theological  difficulties  which  inhere  in  such  a 
theory  are  many.  It  may  enable  reasoners  to  elude 
pursuit,  but  it  will  not  give  them  any  vantage-ground 


THE  DOCTRINAL  BASIS.  47 

for  a  conflict  with  philosophical  objections.  And  yet, 
as  the  pilot-idea  of  a  Life  of  Christ,  it  is  far  less  mis- 
chievous than  the  strictly  humanitarian  view  ;  it  does 
less  violence  to  recorded  facts.  But  it  cannot  create 
an  ideal  on  which  the  soul  may  feed.  After  the  last 
touch  is  given  to  the  canvas,  we  see  only  a  Creature. 
The  soul  admires ;  but  it  must  go  elsewhere  to  bestow 
its  utmost  love  and  reverence. 

A  third  view  is  held,  which  may  be  called  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Church,  at  least  since  the  fourth  century. 
It  attributes  to  Jesus  a  double  nature,  —  a  human  soul 
and  a  divine  soul  in  one  body.  It  is  not  held  that 
these  two  souls  existed  separately  and  in  juxtaposi- 
tion, —  two  separate  tenants,  as  it  were,  of  a  common 
dwelling.  Neither  is  it  taught  that  either  soul  ab- 
sorbed the  other,  so  that  the  divine  lapsed  into  the 
human,  or  the'  human  expanded  into  the  divine. 
But  it  is  held  that,  by  the  union  of  a  human  and  a 
divine  nature,  the  one  person  Jesus  Christ  became 
God-Man  ;  a  being  carrying  in  himself  both  natures, 
inseparably  blended,  and  never  again  to  be  dissevered. 
This  new  ihcanihropic  being,  of  blended  divinity  and 
humanity,  will  occasion  no  surprise  in  those  who  are 
familiar  with  modes  of  thought  which  belonged  to  the 
early  theologians  of  the  Church.  It  is  only  when,  in 
our  day,  this  doctrine  is  supposed  to  be  found  in  the 
New  Testament,  that  one  is  inclined  to  surprise. 

For,  as  in  a  hot  campaign  the  nature  of  the  lines  of 
intrenchment  is  determined  by  the  assaults  of  the 
enem}^,  so  this  doctrine  took  its  shape,  not  from. 
Scripture  statements,  but  from  the  exigencies  of 
controversy.  It  was  thrown  up  to  meet  the  assaults 
upon  the  true  divinity  of  Christ;  and,  although  cum- 


48  TUB  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

brous  and  involved,  it  saved  Christianity.  For,  the 
truth  of  the  proper  divinity  of  Christ  is  the  marrow 
of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  It  is  the  only  point  at 
which  natural  and  revealed  religion  can  be  reconciled. 

But  if  by  another  and  better  statement  the  divinity 
of  Christ  can  be  exhibited  in  equal  eminence  and  with 
greater  simplicity,  and  if  such  exhibition  shall  be  found 
in  more  obvious  accord  with  the  language  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  with  what  we  now  know  of  mental 
philosophy,  it  will  be  wise,  in  constructing  a  life  of 
Christ,  to  leave  the  antiquated  theory  of  the  mediaeval 
Church,  and  return  to  the  simple  and  more  philosophi- 
cal views  of  the  sacred  Scriptures. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  many  questions  which 
have  profoundly  excited  the  curiosity  of  thinkers,  and 
agitated  the  Church,  had  not  even  entered  into  the 
conceptions  of  men  at  the  time  when  the  writings 
of  the  New  Testament  were  framed.  They  are  medi- 
aeval or  modern.  The  Romish  doctrine  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  could  hardly  have  been  understood  even,  by 
the  apostles.  The  speculations  which  have  absorbed 
the  thoughts  of  men  for  ages  are  not  only  not 
found  m  the  sacred  record,  but  would  have  been  in- 
congruous with  its  whole  spirit.  The  evangelists 
never  reason  upon  any  question ;  they  simply  state 
what  they  saw  or  heard.  They  never  deduce  in- 
ferences and  principles  from  facts.  They  frame  their 
narrations  without  any  apparent  consciousness  of  the 
philosophical  relations  of  the  facts  contained  in  them 
to  each  other  or  to  any  system.  It  is  probable  that 
the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  never  entered  their 
minds  as  it  exists  in  ours.  It  was  to  them  a  moral 
fact,  and  not  a  philosophical  problem. 


THE  DOCTRINAL  BASIS.  49 

How  Jesus  was  Son  of  God,  and  yet  Son  of  Man,  is 
nowhere  spoken  of  in  those  simple  records.  The 
evangelists  and  the  apostles  content  themselves  with 
simply  declaring  that  God  came  into  the  world  in  the 
form  of  a  man.  "  The  Word  was  God."  "  And  the 
Word  ivas  made  fcsh,  and  dwelt  among  ns."  This  is 
all  the  explanation  given  by  the  disciple  who  was 
most  in  sympathy  with  Jesus.  Jesus  was  God ;  and 
he  was  made  flesh.  The  simplest  rendering  of  these 
words  would  seem  to  be,  that  the  Divine  Spirit  had 
enveloped  himself  with  the  human  body,  and  in  that 
condition  been  subject  to  the  indispensable  limitations 
of  material  laws.  Paul's  statement  is  almost  a  direct 
historical  narrative  of  facts.  "  Let  this  mind  be  in 
you  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus  :  who,  being  in  the 
form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God ;  but  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon 
him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  tvas  made  in  the  likeness 
of  men  ;  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  hum- 
bled himself  and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even 
the  death  of  the  cross."  (Phil.  ii.  5-8.)  This  is 
a  simple  statement  that  Jesus,  a  Divine  Person, 
brought  his  nature  into  the  human  body,  and  was 
subject  to  all  its  laws  and  conditions.  No  one  can 
extract  from  this  the  notion  of  two  intermixed  souls 
in  one  nature. 

The  same  form  of  statement  appears  in  Romans  viii. 
3 :  "  For  what  the  law  could  not  do,  in  that  it  was 
weak  through  the  flesh,  God,  sending  his  own  Son  in 
the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in 
the  flesh."  There  is  no  hint  here  of  joining  a  himian 
soul  to  the  divine.  In  not  a  single  passage  of  the  New 
Testament  is  such  an  idea  even  suggested.     The  lan- 

4 


50  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

guage  which  is  used  on  this  subject  is  such  as  could 
not  have  been  employed  by  one  who  had  in  his  mind 
the  notion  of  two  souls  in  coexistence. 

As  it  is  unsafe  to  depart  from  the  obvious  teaching 
of  the  sacred  Scriptures  on  a  theme  so  far  removed 
from  all  human  knowledge,  we  shall  not,  in  this  Life  of 
our  Lord,  render  ourselves  subject  to  the  hopeless  con- 
fusions of  the  theories  of  the  schools,  but  shall  cling  to 
the  simple  and  intelligible  representations  of  the  Word. 
"  Great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness  :  God  was  manifest 
in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels, 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world, 
received  up  into  glory."     (1  Tim.  iii.  16.) 

The  Divine  Spirit  came  into  the  world,  in  the  jDcrson 
of  Jesus,  not  bearing  the  attributes  of  Deity  in  their 
full  disclosure  and  power.  He  came  into  the  world 
to  subject  his  spirit  to  that  whole  discipline  and  expe- 
rience through  which  every  man  must  pass.  He  veiled 
his  royalty  ;  he  folded  back,  as  it  were,  within  himself 
those  ineffable  powers  which  belonged  to  him  as  a  free 
spirit  in  heaven.  He  went  into  captivity  to  himself, 
wrapping  in  weakness  and  forgetfulness  his  divine  en- 
ergies, while  he  was  a  babe.  "  Being  found  in  fashion 
as  a  man,"  he  was  subject  to  that  gradual  imfolding  of 
liis  buried  powers  which  belongs  to  infancy  and  child- 
hood. "And  the  child  grew,  and  tmxcd  strong  in 
spirit."  He  was  subject  to  the  restrictions  which  hold 
and  hinder  common  men.  He  was  to  come  back  to 
himself  little  by  little.  Who  shall  say  that  God  can- 
not put  himself  into  finite  conditions  ?  Though  as  a 
free  spirit  God  cannot  grow,  yet  as  fettered  in  the  flesh 
he  may.  Breaking  out  at  times  with  amazing  power,  in 
single  directions,  yet  at  other  times  feeling  the  mist 


THE  DOCTRINAL  BASIS.  51 

of  humanity  resting  upon  his  eyes,  he  declares,  "  Of 
that  day  and  that  hour  knoweth  no  man,  no,  not  the 
angels  which  are  in  heaven,  neither  the  Son,  but  the 
Father."  This  is  just  the  experience  which  we  should 
expect  in  a  being  whose  problem  of  life  was,  not 
the  disclosure  of  the  full  power  and  glory  of  God's 
natural  attributes,  but  the  manifestation  of  the  love 
of  God,  and  of  the  extremities  of  self-renunciation  to 
which  the  Divine  heart  would  submit,  in  the  rearing 
up  from  animalism  and  passion  his  family  of  children. 
The  incessant  looking  for  the  signs  of  divine  power 
and  of  infinite  attributes,  in  the  earthly  life  of  Jesus, 
whose  mission  it  was  to  bring  the  Divine  Spirit  within 
the  conditions  of  feeble  humanity,  is  as  if  one  should 
search  a  dethroned  king,  in  exile,  for  his  crown  and  his 
sceptre.  We  are  not  to  look  for  a  glorified,  an  en- 
throned Jesus,  but  for  God  manifest  in  the  flesh;  and 
in  this  view  the  very  limitations  and  seeming  discrep- 
ancies in  a  Divine  life  become  congruous  parts  of  the 
whole  sublime  problem. 

We  are  to  remember  that,  whatever  A'iew  of  the 
mystery  be  taken,  there  will  be  difficulties  which  no 
ingenuity  can  solve.  But  we  are  to  distinguish  be- 
tween difficulties  which  are  inherent  in  the  nature  of 
the  Infinite,  and  those  which  are  but  the  imperfections 
of  our  own  philosophy.  In  the  one  case,  the  perplex- 
ity lies  in  the  weakness  of  our  reason  ;  in  the  other,  in 
the  weakness  of  our  reasoning.  The  former  will  always 
be  burdensome  enough,  without  adding  to  it  the  pres- 
sure of  that  extraordinary  theory  of  the  Incarnation, 
which,  without  a  single  express  Scriptural  statement  in 
its  support,  works  out  a  compound  divine  nature,  with- 
out analogue  or  parallel  in  human  mental  philosophy. 


52  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

Early  theologians  believed  suffering  to  be  inconsisi> 
ent  with  the  Divine  perfection.  Impassivity  was  es- 
sential to  true  divinity.  With  such  ideas  of  the  Divine 
nature,  how  could  they  believe  that  Jesus,  a  man  of 
suffering,  and  acquainted  with  grief,  was  divine  ?  A 
human  soul  was  therefore  conjoined  to  the  divine,  and 
to  that  human  element  were  ascribed  all  the  phenom- 
ena of  weakness  and  suffering  which  they  shrank  from 
imputing  to  the  Deity.  This  disordered  reverence  was 
corroborated  by  imperfect  notions  of  what  constitutes 
a  true  manhood.  If  God  became  a  true  man,  they 
aro"ued,  he  must  have  had  a  human  soul.  As  if  the 
Divine  nature  clothed  in  flesh  did  not  constitute  the 
most  absolute  manhood,  and  fill  up  the  whole  ideal ! 

Man's  nature  and  God's  nature  do  not  differ  in  kind, 
but  in  degree  of  the  same  attributes.  Love  in  God 
is  love  in  man.  Justice,  mercy,  benevolence,  are  not 
different  in  nature,  but  only  in  degree  of  power  and 
excellence.  "And  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in 
our   image,   after   our   likeness."     (Gen.    i.    26.)     "In 

him  we  live,  and  m.ove,  and  have  our  being 

Forasmuch  then  as  we  are  the  offspring  of  God,"  etc. 
(Acts  xvii.  28,  29.) 

This  identification  of  the  divine  and  the  human  na- 
ture was  one  of  the  grand  results  of  the  Incarnation. 
The  beauty  and  preciousness  of  Christ's  earthly  life 
consist  in  its  being  a  true  divine  life,  a  presentation 
to  us,  in  forms  that  we  can  comprehend,  of  the  very 
thoughts,  feelings,  and  actions  of  God  when  placed  in 
our  condition  in  this  mortal  life.  To  insert  two  na- 
tures is  to  dissolve  the  charm. 

Christ  was  very  God.  Yet,  w^hen  clothed  with  a  hu- 
man body,  and  made  subject   through   that  body  to 


THE  DOCTRINAL  BASIS.  53 

physical  laws,  he  was  then  a  man,  of  the  same  moral 
faculties  as  man,  of  the  same  mental  nature,  subject 
to  precisely  the  same  trials  and  temptations,  only  with- 
out the  weakness  of  sin.  A  human  soul  is  not  some- 
thing other,  and  different  from  the  Divine  soul.  It  is  as 
like  it  as  the  son  is  like  his  father.  God  is  father,  man 
is  son.  As  God  in  our  place  becomes  human,  —  such 
being  the  similarity  of  the  essential  natures,  —  so 
man  in  God  becomes  divine.  Thus  we  learn  not  only 
to  what  our  manhood  is  coming,  but  when  the  Divine 
Spirit  takes  our  whole  condition  upon  himself,  we  see 
the  thoughts,  the  feelings,  and,  if  we  may  so  say,  the 
private  and  domestic  inclinations  of  God.  What  he 
was  on  earth,  in  his  sympathies,  tastes,  friendships, 
generous  famiUarities,  gentle  condescensions,  we  shall 
find  him  to  be  in  heaven,  only  in  a  profusion  and 
amplitude  of  disclosure  far  beyond  the  earthly  hints 
and  glimpses. 

The  tears  of  Christ  were  born  of  the  flesh,  but 
the  tender  sympathy  which  showed  itself  by  those 
precious  tokens  dwells  unwasted  and  forever  in 
the  nature  of  God.  The  gentleness,  the  compas- 
sion, the  patience,  the  loving  habit,  the  truth  and 
equity,  which  were  displayed  in  the  daily  life  of 
the  Saviour,  were  not  so  many  experiences  of  a  hu- 
man soul  mated  with  the  Divine,  but  were  the 
proper  expressions  of  the  very  Divine  soul  itself,  that 
men  might  see,  in  God,  a  true  and  perfect  manhood. 
When  Jesus,  standing  before  his  disciples  as  a  full 
man,  was  asked  to  reveal  God  the  Father,  he  an- 
swered, "  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father." 
Manhood  is  nearer  to  godhood  than  we  have  been 
wont  to  believe. 


54  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 


CHAPTER      IV. 

CHILDHOOD   AND   RESIDENCE   AT   N.\ZARETH. 

The  parents  of  Jesus  returned  to  Nazareth,  and  there 
for  many  years  they  and  their  child  were  to  dwell. 

There  was  nothing  that  we  know  of,  to  distinguish 
this  child  from  any  other  that  ever  was  born.  It  passed 
through  the  twilight  of  infancy  as  helpless  and  depend- 
ent as  all  other  children  must  ever  be.  If  we  had 
dwelt  at  Nazareth  and  daily  seen  the  child  Jesus,  we 
should  have  seen  the  cradle-life  of  other  children.  This 
was  no  prodigy.  He  did  not  speak  wonderful  wisdom 
in  his  infancy.  He  slept  or  waked  upon  his  mother's 
bosom,  as  all  children  do.  He  unfolded,  first  the  per- 
ceptive reason,  afterwards  the  voluntary  powers.  He 
was  nourished  and  he  grew  under  the  same  laws  which 
govern  infant  life  now.  This  then  was  not  a  divinity 
coming  through  the  clouds  into  human  life,  full-orbed, 
triumphing  with  the  undiminished  strength  of  a 
heavenly  nature  over  those  conditions  which  men  must 
bear.  If  this  was  a  divine  person,  it  was  a  divine 
child,  and  childhood  meant  latent  power,  undeveloped 
faculty,  unripe  organs ;  a  being  without  habits,  without 
character,  without  experience ;  a  cluster  of  germs,  a 
branch  full  of  unblossomed  buds,  a  mere  seed  of  man- 
hood. Except  his  mother's  arms,  there  was  no  circle  of 
light  aljout  his  head,  fondly  as  artists  have  loved  to  paint 
it.     But  for  the  after-record  of  Scriptures,  we  should 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  55 

have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  this  child  clifFered  in  any 
respect  from  ordinary  children.  Yet  this  was  the  Son 
of  God !  This  was  that  Word  of  whom  John  spake : 
"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  2vas  God  ! " 

It  was  natural  that  Joseph  and  Mary  should  desire 
to  settle  in  Judsea.  Not  alone  because  here  was  the 
home  of  their  father  David,  but  esj)ecially  because, 
when  once  they  believed  their  son  Jesus  destined  to  ful- 
fil the  prophecies  concerning  the  Messiah,  they  would 
wish  him  to  be  educated  near  to  Jerusalem.  To  them, 
doubtless,  the  Temple  and  its  priesthood  were  yet  the 
highest  exponents  of  religion. 

Divine  Providence  however  removed  him  as  far 
from  the  Temple  and  its  influences  as  possible.  Half- 
heathen  Galilee  was  better  for  his  youth  than  Jeru- 
salem. To  Nazareth  we  must  look  for  his  early  history. 
But  what  can  be  gleaned  there,  when  for  twelve 
years  of  childhood  the  only  syllable  of  history  uttered 
is,  "And  the  child  grew,  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit, 
filled  with  wisdom,  and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon 
him?" 

Not  a  single  fact  is  recorded  of  his  appearance, 
his  infantine  ways;  what  his  parents  thought,  what 
his  brothers  and  sisters  thought  of  him ;  the  im- 
pression made  by  him  upon  neighbors  ;  wdiether  he 
went  to  school ;  how  early,  if  at  all,  he  put  his  hand  to 
work ;  whether  he  was  lively  and  gay,  or  sad  and 
thoughtful,  or  both  by  turns ;  whether  he  was  medita- 
tive and  refined,  standing  apart  from  others,  or  robust, 
and  addicted  to  sports  among  his  young  associates : 
no  one  knows,  or  can  know,  whatever  may  be  inferred 
or  suspected.     He  emerges  for  a  moment  into  history 


56  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   TUE   CHRIST. 

at  twelve  years  of  age,  going  with  his  parents  to  Jeru- 
salem. That  glimpse  is  the  last  which  is  given  us  for 
the  next  sixteen  or  eighteen  years. 

But  regarding  a  life  over  which  men  have  hung  with 
an  interest  so  absorbing,  it  is  impossible  to  restrain  the 
imagination.  There  will  always  be  a  filling  up  of 
the  vacant  spaces.  If  not  clone  by  the  pen,  it  w^ill 
none  the  less  be  clone  in  some  more  fiinciful  way  by 
free  thoughts,  which,  incited  both  by  curiosity  and 
devotion,  will  hover  over  the  probabilities  when 
there  is  nothing  better.  Nor  need  this  be  mischiev- 
ous. There  are  certain  generic  experiences  which 
must  have  befallen  Jesus,  because  they  belong  to  all 
human  life.  He  was  a  child.  He  was  subject  to 
parental  authority.  He  lived  among  citizens  and  un- 
der the  laws.  He  ate,  drank,  labored,  was  weary,  re- 
freshed himself  by  sleej).  He  mingled  among  men, 
transacted  affiiirs  w^ith  them,  and  exchanged  daily 
salutations.  He  was  pleased  or  displeased;  he  was 
glad  often  and  often  sorrowful.  He  was  subject  to  the 
oscillations  of  mood  which  belong  to  finely  organized 
persons.  There  must  have  been  manifestations  of  filial 
love.  In  looking  upon  men  he  was  subject  to  emo- 
tions of  grief,  pity,  and  indignation,  or  of  sympathy 
and  approval.  He  was  a  child  before  he  was  a  man.. 
He  had  those  nameless  graces  which  belong  to  all 
ingenuous  boys;  and  though  he  must  have  seemed 
precocious,  at  least  to  his  own  household,  there  is 
no  evidence  that  he  was  thought  remarkable  by  his 
fellow-citizens.  On  the  other  hand,  none  were  less 
prepared  to  see  him  take  a  prominent  part  in  pub- 
lic afiliirs  than  the  very  people  who  had  known  him 
from  mfancy.     "Whence  hath  this  man  this  wisdom, 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  57 

and  these  mighty  works  ?  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's 
son  ?  Is  not  his  mother  called  Mary  ?  and  his  brethren, 
James,  and  Joses,  and  Simon,  and  Judas  ?  and  his  sisters, 
are  they  not  all  with  us  ?  "  —  this  is  not  the  language  of 
admiring  neighbors,  who  had  thought  the  boy  a  prod- 
igy and  had  always  predicted  that  he  would  become 
remarkable !  This  incident  throws  back  a  light  upon 
his  childhood.  If  he  went  through  the  ordinary  evolu- 
tions of  youth  it  is  certain  that  the  universal  experi- 
ences of  that  period  must  have  befallen  him.  Nothing 
could  be  more  unnatural  than  to  suppose  that  he  was 
a  child  without  a  childhood,  a  full  and  perfect  being 
cleft  from  the  Almighty,  as  Minerva  was  fabled  to  have 
come  from  the  head  of  Jupiter ;  who,  though  a  Jew, 
in  Nazareth,  probably  following  a  carpenter's  trade, 
was  yet  but  a  celestial  image,  a  white  and  slen- 
der figure  floating  in  a  half-spiritual  transfiguration 
through  the  days  of  a  glorified  childhood.  He  was 
"  the  Son  of  Man,"  —  a  real  boy,  as  afterwards  he  was 
a  most  manly  man.  He  knew  every  step  of  growth ; 
he  underwent  the  babe's  experience  of  knowing  noth- 
ing, the  child's,  of  knowing  a  little,  the  universal  neces- 
sity of  development ! 

But  there  is  a  question  of  education,  which  has  been 
much  considered.  Was  the  development  of  his  nature 
the  result  of  internal  forces  ?  Or  was  he,  as  other  men 
are  wont  to  be,  powerfully  affected  by  external  circum- 
stances ?  Was  his  imagination  touched  and  enriched 
by  the  exquisite  scenery  about  him  ?  Did  the  historic 
associations  of  all  this  Galilean  res-ion  around  him 
develop  a  temper  of  patriotism  ?  Was  his  moral  nature 
educated  by  the  repulsion  of  ignoble  men,  —  by  the 
necessity  of  toil,  —  by  the  synagogue,  —  by  his  mother 


58  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

at  home,  —  and  by  his  hours  of  solitary  meditation^  and 
of  holy  communion  with  God  ? 

That  Jesus  was  sensitive  to  every  influence  which 
would  shape  an  honorable  nature,  is  not  to  be  doubted. 
But  whether  there  was  more  than  mere  recipiency, 
may  well  be  questioned.  Circumstances  may  have 
been  the  occasions,  but  not  the  causes,  of  development 
to  a  divine  mind,  obscured  in  a  human  body,  and  learn- 
ing to  regain  its  power  and  splendor  by  the  steps  which 
in  common  men  are  called  growth. 

We  shall  make  a  brief  discussion  of  the  point  a 
means  of  setting  before  the  mind  the  jDhysical  features 
of  Galilee,  and  the  local  influences  which  prevailed 
there  during  our  Lord's  life. 

If  it  was  desirable  to  bring  up  the  child  Jesus  as  far 
as  possible  from  the  Temple  influence,  in  Palestine  and 
yet  not  under  excessive  Jewish  influence,  no  place  could 
have  been  chosen  better  than  Nazareth.  It  was  a 
small  village,  obscure,  and  remote  from  Jerusalem.  Its 
very  name  had  never  occurred  in  the  Old  Testament 
records.  And  though,  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  Gal- 
ilee was  made  the  seat  of  Jewish  schools  of  religion, — 
Sepharis,  but  a  few  miles  north  of  Nazareth,  being 
the  head-quarters, — yet,  at  our  Lord's  birth,  and  dur- 
ing his  whole  life,  this  region  of  Palestine  was  but 
little  affected  by  Jerusalem.  The  population  was  a 
mixed  one,  made  up  of  many  different  nationalities. 
A  debased  remnant  of  the  ten  tribes,  after  their  cap- 
tivity had  wandered  back,  with  Jewish  blood  and 
heathen  manners.  The  Roman  armies  and  Roman 
rulers  had  brought  into  the  province  a  great  many 
foreigners.  A  large  Gentile  population  had  divided 
with   native   Jews   the    towns   and   villages.      Greeks 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  59 

swarmed  in  the  larger  commercial  towns.  Galilee  was, 
far  more  than  Judaea,  cosmopolitan.  Commerce  and 
manufactures  had  thriven  by  the  side  of  agriculture. 
Josephus  says  that  Galilee  had  more  than  two  hun- 
dred cities  and  villages,  the  smallest  of  which  con- 
tained not  less  than  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants.  This 
seems  an  extravagant  statement,  but  it  will  serve  to 
convey  an  idea  of  the  great  populousness  of  the  prov- 
ince in  which  the  youth  of  Jesus  was  spent  and  in 
which  also  his  public  life  was  chiefly  passed.  The  in- 
fluences which  had  changed  the  people  had  jorovincial- 
ized  their  language.  A  Galilean  was  known  by  his 
speech,  which  seems  to  have  been  regarded  as  unre- 
fined and  vulgar.^ 

Among  such  a  people  was  the  Lord  reared.  If,  as 
is  probable,  he  followed  his  father's  business  and 
worked  among  the  common  people,  we  may  perceive 
that  his  education,  remote  from  the  Temple,  not  only 
saved  him  from  the  influence  of  the  dead  and  corrupt 
schools  of  Jerusalem,  but  brought  him  into  sympa- 
thetic relations  with  the  most  lowly  in  life.  In  all  his 
after  ministry,  apart  from  his  divine  insight,  he  could 
of  his  own  experience  understand  the  feelings,  tastes, 
and  needs  of  his  audiences.  "  The  common  people  heard 
him  gladly."  He  had  sprung  from  among  them.  He 
had  been  reared  in  their  pursuits  and  habits.  For 
thirty  years  he  was  a  man  among  men,  a  laboring  man 
among  laboring  men.  It  is  in  this  contact  with  human 
life  on  all  its  sides,  —  with  the  pure  Jew,  Avith  the 
degenerate  Jew,  with  the  Greek,  the  Phoenician,  the 
Roman,  the  Syrian,  —  that  we  are  to  look  for  the  most 
fruitful  results  of  the    Lord's  youth  and  manhood  in 

1  Mark  xiv.  70 ;    Acts  ii.  7. 


CO  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,    THE   CHRIST. 

Nazareth  and  the  surrounding  region.  In  this  rich  and 
populous  province  the  civihzed  world  was  epitomized. 
Jesus  had  never  travelled  as  did  ancient  philosophers ; 
but  he  had  probably  come  in  contact  more  largely  with 
various  human  nature  by  staying  at  home,  than  they 
had  by  going  abroad. 

The  village  of  Nazareth  had  a  bad  reputation.  This 
is  shown  in  the  surprised  question  of  Nathanael,  who, 
being  a  resident  of  Cana,  m  its  immediate  neighbor- 
hood, undoubtedly  reflected  the  popular  estimate,  "  Can 
any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?  "  This  ques- 
tion incidentally  shows,  also,  that  our  Lord's  childhood 
had  not  been  one  of  portents  and  marvels,  and  had 
not  exhibited  any  such  singular  characteristics  as  to 
create  in  the  region  about  him  such  a  reputation  as 
easily  grows  up  among  ignorant  people  around  any 
peculiarity  in  childhood.  Something  of  the  spirit 
which  had  given  Nazareth  such  bad  repute  shows 
itself  on  the  occasion  of  our  Lord's  first  preaching 
there,  when,  as  the  application  of  his  discourse  was 
closer  than  they  liked,  the  people  offered  him  per- 
sonal violence,  showing  them  to  be  unrestrained,  pas- 
sionate, and  bloodthirsty. 

The  town,  or  as  it  then  was,  the  village,  of  Nazareth 
was  an  exquisite  gem  in  a  noble  setting.  All  winters 
grow  enthusiastic  in  the  description  of  its  beauty,  —  a 
beauty  which  continues  to  this  day.  Stanley,  in  part 
quoting  Richardson,  says :  "  Fifteen  gently  rounded 
hills  seem  as  if  they  had  met  to  form  an  enclosure  for 
this  peaceful  basin.  They  rise  round  it  like  the  edge 
of  a  shell,  to  guard  it  from  intrusion.  It  is  a  rich  and 
beautiful  field  in  the  midst  of  these  green  hills,  abound- 
ing in  gay  flowers,  in  fig-trees,  small  gardens,  hedges  of 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  61 

the  prickly  pear;  and  the  dense  rice-grass  affords  an 
abundant  pasture."  ^ 

The  town  was  built  not  upon  the  summit,  but  upon 
the  sides,  of  a  high  hill.  The  basin  runs  from  north- 
east to  southwest,  and  it  is  from  its  western  slope  that 
the  village  of  Nazareth  looks  forth. 

It  must  needs  be  that,  in  his  boyhood  wanderings, 
Jesus  often  ascended  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  to  look  over 
the  wide  scene  which  opened  before  the  eye.  It  often 
happens  that  the  finest  panoramas  in  mountain  coun- 
tries are  not  those  seen  from  the  highest  points.  The 
peculiar  conformations  of  the  land  frequently  give  to 
comparatively  low  positions  a  view  both  wider  and  no- 
bler than  is  obtained  from  a  fourfold  height.  The 
hill  of  Nazareth  yielded  a  view  not  equalled  in  Pales- 
tine,—  surpassing  that  seen  from  the  top  of  Tabor. 
The  village  itself,  built  on  the  side  of  one  of  the  hills 
which  form  the  mile-long  basin,  was  four  hundred  feet 
below  the  summit,  and  was  so  much  shut  in  by  sur- 
rounding heights  that  it  had  but  little  outlook.  But 
from  the  hill-top  behind  the  village  one  looked  forth 
upon  almost  the  whole  of  Galilee, —  from  Lebanon,  and 
from  Hermon,  always  white  with  snow,  in  the  far  north 
and  northeast,  down  to  the  lake  of  Gennesareth,  with 
Hattin,  Tabor,  Little  Hermon,  Gilboa,  on  the  east  and 
southeast;  the  hills  of  Samaria  on  the  south;  Carmel 
and  the  Mediterranean  Sea  on  the  southwest  and  west. 
Two  miles  south  of  the  village  of  Nazareth  stretched 
clear  across  the  breadth  of  Galilee  the  noblest  plain 
of  Palestine,  —  Esdraelon,  (which  name  is  but  a  modi- 
fication of  the  old  word  Jezreel),  a  meadow-like  plain 
with  an  undulating  surface,  or,  as  it  would  be  called  in 

'  Sinai  and  Palestine,  p.  357. 


I 


62  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

our  Western  phrase,  a  rolling  prairie,  three  or  four 
miles  wide  at  its  widest,  and  about  fifteen  in  length. 

These  names  recall  some  of  the  most  romantic 
and  critical  events  of  the  old  Jewish  history.  The 
places  were  identified  with  the  patriarchs,  the  judges, 
the  jirophets,  and  the  kings  of  Israel.  Across  the 
great  plain  of  Jezreel  the  tide  of  battle  has  not  ceased 
to  flow,  age  after  age ;  the  Midianite,  the  Amalekite, 
the  Syrian,  the  Philistine,  each  in  turn  rushed  through 
this  open  gate  among  the  hills,  alternately  conquering 
and  conquered.  Its  modern  history  has  made  good  its 
ancient  experience.  It  has  been  the  battle-field  of 
ages ;  and  the  threat  of  war  so  continually  hangs 
over  it,  that,  while  it  is  the  richest  and  most  fruitful 
part  of  Palestine,  there  is  not  to-day  an  inhabited  city 
or  villao:e  in  its  whole  extent. 

The  beauty  of  all  this  region  in  the  spring  and 
early  summer  gives  rise  to  endless  praise  from  travel- 
lers. It  may  be  doubted  wdiether  this  scene  does  not 
owe  much  to  local  contrast,  and  whether,  if  it  were 
transported  to  England  or  to  America,  wdiere  moisture 
is  perpetual,  and  a  kinder  sun  stimulates  but  seldom 
scorches,  it  would  maintain  its  reputation.  But  in  one 
respect,  probably,  it  excels  all  foreign  contrasts,  and 
that  is,  in  the  variety,  succession,  and  brilliancy  of  its 
flowers.  The  fielcTs*  fairly  glow  with  colors,  which 
change  every  month,  and  only  in  August  disappear 
from  the  plain ;  and  even  then,  retreating  to  the  cool 
ravines  and  edges  of  the  mountains,  they  bloom  on. 
The  region  swarms  with  singing-birds  of  every  plum- 
age, besides  countless  flocks  of  birds  for  game.-^ 

*  Professor  J  L.  Porter,  in  Kitto's  Biblical  Encyclnpcvrlin  (Art.  "  Gnliloe") 
says  :  "  Lower  Galilee  was  a  land  of  husbandmen,  famed  for  its  corn-fields,  as 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  G3 

The  whole  of  Gahlee  is  to  every  modern  traveller 
made  profoundly  interesting  by  the  life  of  Christ, 
which  was  so  largely  spent  in  it.  But  no  thoughtful 
mind  can  help  asking,  What  did  it  do  to  him  ? 

Of  this  the  Gospels  are  silent.  No  record  is  made  of 
his  youthful  tastes,  or  of  his  manhood  pursuits.  We  are 
unwillino:  to  believe  that  he  never  ascended  the  hill  to 
look  out  over  the  noble  panorama,  and  still  less  are  we 
willing  to  believe  that  he  beheld  all  that  was  there 
without  sensibility,  or  even  with  only  an  ordinary  hu- 
man sensitiveness  to  nature.  We  cannot  doubt  that 
he  beheld  the  scenes  with  a  grander  impulse  than  man 
ever  knew.  He  was  in  his  own  world.  "All  things 
were  made  by  him ;  and  without  him  was  not  anything 
made  that  was  made."  But  whether  this  knowledge 
existed  during  his  childhood,  or  whether  he  came  to 
the  full  recognition  of  his  prior  relations  to  the  world 
gradually  and  only  in  the  later  years  of  his  life,  may 
be  surmised,  but  cannot  be  known. 

It  is  certain  that  the  general  statements  which  have 
recently  been  made,  respecting  the  influence  of  Naza- 
reth and  its  surroundings  upon  the  unfolding  of  his 
genius,  are  without  either   positive  historic  evidence 

Upper  Galilee  was  for  its  olive  groves  and  Judaea  for  its  vineyards.  The  rich 
soil  remains,  and  there  are  still  some  fruitful  fields;  but  its  inhabitants  are  few 
in  number,  and  its  choicest  plains  are  desolated  by  the  wild  Bedouin.  Gali- 
lee was  and  is  also  remarkable  for  the  variety  and  beauty  of  its  wild  flowers. 
In  early  spring  the  whole  country  is  spangled  with  them,  and  the  air  is  filled 
with  their  odors.  Birds,  too,  are  exceedingly  numerous.  The  rocky 
banks  are  all  alive  with  partridges  ;  the  meadows  swarm  with  quails  and 
larks  ;  *  the  voice  of  the  turtle '  resounds  through  every  grove  ;  and  pigeons 
are  heard  cooing  high  up  in  the  cliff's  and  glen-sides,  and  are  seen  in  flocks 
hovering  over  the  corn-fields.  The  writer  has  travelled  through  Galilee  at 
various  seasons,  and  has  always  been  struck  with  some  new  beauty  ;  the  deli- 
cate verdure  of  spring,  and  its  blush  of  flowers,  the  mellow  tints  of  autumn, 
and  the  russet  hues  of  the  oak-forests  in  winter,  have  all  their  charms." 


(34  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

or  any  internal  evidence  to  be  found  in  his  discourses, 
conversations,  and  parables. 

The  slightest  study  of  our  Lord's  discourses  will 
show  that  he  made  almost  no  use  of  nature,  as  such, 
in  his  thoughts  and  teachings.  He  had  in  his  hands 
the  writings  of  the  old  prophets  of  his  nation,  and  he 
was  familiar  with  their  contents.  In  them  he  beheld 
all  the  aspects  of  nature,  whatever  was  sublime,  and 
whatever  was  beautiful,  employed  to  enforce  the  lessons 
of  morality  with  a  power  and  poetic  beauty  which  had 
then  no  parallel,  and  which  have  since  had  no  rival. 
But  there  would  seem  to  have  been  in  his  own  use  of 
lano-uage  a  striking  avoidance  of  the  style  of  the  proph- 
ets. In  the  employment  of  natural  objects,  no  contrast 
can  be  imagined  greater  than  that  between  the  records 
of  the  Evangelists  and  the  pages  of  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
Habakkuk,  and  the  Psalmists.  Our  Lord  never  drew 
illustrations  from  original  and  wild  nature,  but  from  na- 
ture after  it  had  felt  the  hand  of  man.  Human  occu- 
pations furnish  the  staple  of  his  parables  and  illustra- 
tions. It  was  the  city  set  upon  a  hill  that  our  Lord 
selected,  not  the  high  hill  itself,  or  a  mountain ;  vines 
and  fig-trees,  but  not  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  nor  the 
oaks.  The  plough,  the  yoke,  the  seed-sowing,  the  har- 
vest-field, flocks  of  sheep,  bargains,  coins,  magistrates, 
courts  of  justice,  domestic  scenes,  —  these  are  the  pre- 
ferred images  in  our  Saviour's  discourses.  And  yet  he 
had  been  brought  up  in  sight  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea ;  for  thirty  years,  at  a  few  steps  from  his  home,  he 
might  have  looked  on  Mount  Hermon,  lifted  up  in  soli- 
tude above  the  reach  of  summer;  the  history  of  his 
people  was  identified  with  Tabor,  with  Mount  Gilboa, 
with  Ebal  and  Gcrizim,  —  but  he  made  no  use  of  them. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  66 

The  very  changes  which  war  had  wrought  upon  the 
face  of  the  country,  —  the  destruction  of  forests,  the 
drying  up  of  springs  of  water,  the  breaking  down  of 
terraces,  the  waste  of  soil,  and  the  destruction  of  vine- 
yards,—  were  striking  analogies  of  the  effects  of  the 
passions  upon  human  nature.  Yet  no  allusion  is  made 
to  these  things.  There  are  in  the  Gospel  narratives  no 
waves,  clouds,  storms,  lions,  eagles,  mountains,  forests, 
plains.-^ 

The  lilies  and  the  sparrows  and  the  reed  shaken  by 
the  wind  are  the  only  purely  natural  objects  which  he 
uses.  For  water  and  light  (with  the  one  exception  of 
lightning)  are  employed  in  their  relations  of  utility. 
The  illustration  of  the  setting  sun  (Matt.  xvi.  2)  is 
but  the  quotation  of  a  common  proverb.  The  Jordan 
was  the  one  great  historic  stream :  it  is  not  alluded 
to.  The  cities  that  were  once  on  the  plain,  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  are  held  up  in  solemn  warning;  but 
that  most  impressive  moral  symbol,  the  Dead  Sea  it- 

'  When  Moses  would  show  God's  tender  care  of  Israel,  it  was  the  eagle 
that  represented  God.  "  As  an  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest,  fluttereth  over 
her  young,  spreadeth  abroad  her  wings,  taketh  them,  beareth  them  on  her 
wings  ;  so  the  Lord  alone  did  lead  him."     (Deut.  xxii.  11,  12.) 

The  profound  care  of  our  Lord  Avas  represented  by  him  in  the  figure  of 
a  bird,  but  taken  from  husbandry.  "  How  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy 
children  together,  even  as  a  hen  doth  gather  her  brood  under  her  wings, 
and  ye  would  not ! " 

The  same  contrast  exists  in  the  employment  of  illustrations  drawn  from 
the  floral  kingdom.  Had  Ruskin  been  writing,  instead  of  Solomon,  he  could 
not  have  shown  a  rarer  intimacy  with  flowers  than  is  exhibited  in  Solo- 
mon's Songs.  "  I  am  the  rose  of  Sharon,  and  the  lily  of  the  valleys.  Aa 
the  lily  among  thorns,  so  is  my  love  among  daughters.  As  the  apple-treo 
among  the  trees  of  the  wood,  so  is  my  beloved  among  the  sons."  *•  j\Iy  be- 
loved spake,  and  said  unto  me.  Rise  up,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come 
away.  For  lo,  the  winter  is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone  ;  the  flowers  ap- 
pear on  the  earth;  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of 
the  turtle  [dove]  is  heard  in  our  land.     The  fig-tree  puttetli  forth  her  green 


6(3  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

self,  Christ  did  not  mention.  "We  must  not  allow  our 
thoughts  to  suppose  that  the  Lord's  soul  did  not  see 
or  feel  that  natural  beauty  which  he  had  himself  cre- 
ated and  which  he  had  through  ages  reproduced  with 
each  year.  The  reasons  why  his  teaching  should  be 
unadorned  and  simple  are  not  hard  to  find.  The 
literary  styles  which  are  most  universally  attractive, 
and  which  are  least  subject  to  the  capricious  change 
of  popular  taste,  are  those  which  are  rich  in  material, 
but  transparently  simple  in  form.  Much  as  men  ad- 
mire the  grandeur  of  the  prophets,  they  dwell  on  the 
words  of  Christ  with  a  more  natural  companionship 
and  far  more  enduring  satisfaction. 

Although  it  is  not  expressly  said  that  Christ  fol- 
lowed his  father's  trade,  yet  Mark  represents  the  dis- 
affected people  of  Nazareth,  on  the  occasion  of  an  un- 
popular sermon,  as  saying  of  Jesus,  "  Is  not  this  the 
carpenter?"     (Mark  vi.  3.) 

We  should  not  give  to  the  term  "  carpenter  "  the  close 

figs,  and  the  vines  with  the  tender  grape  give  a  goodly  smell  "  In  this 
joyous  sympathy  with  nature,  the  Song  flows  on  like  a  brook  fringed 
with  meadow-flowers.  "A  garden  enclosed  is  my  sister,  my  spouse.  .  .  . 
Thy  plants  are  an  orchard  of  pomegranates,  with  pleasant  fruits;  cam- 
phire,  with  spikenard.  Spikenard  and  saffron  ;  calamus  and  cinnamon, 
with  all  trees  of  frankincense ;  myrrh,  and  aloes,  with  all  the  chief  spices  : 
a  fountain  of  gardens,  a  well  of  living  Avatcrs,  and  streams  from  Lebanon. 
Awake,  O  north  wind ;  and  come,  thou  south,  blow  upon  my  garden,  that 
the  spices  thereof  may  flow  out." 

The  single  instance,  in  the  Gospels,  of  an  allusion  to  flowers  is  remarkably 
enough  in  reference  to  this  very  Solomon  whose  words  we  have  just  quoted. 
'*  Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do 
they  spin ;  and  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon  in  all  his  gloi-y  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these." 

The  aflluence  and  splendor  of  illustrations,  in  the  Old  Testament,  drawn 
from  the  poetic  side  of  nature,  and  in  contrast  with  the  lower  tone  and  the 
domesticity  of  New  Testament  figures,  will  be  apparent  upon  the  slightest 
comparison. 


CIIILDnOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  67 

technical  meaning  which  it  has  in  our  day.  All  trades, 
as  society  grows  in  civilization,  become  special,  each 
single  department  making  itself  into  a  trade.  Carv- 
ing, cabinet-making,  joinery,  carpentry,  wooden -tool 
making,  domestic -ware  manufacturing,  tinkering,  are 
each  a  sub-trade  by  itself  But  in  our  Lord's  day,  as  it 
is  yet  in  Palestine,  they  were  all  included  in  one  busi- 
ness. The  carpenter  was  a  universal  worker  in  wood. 
He  built  houses  or  fences,  he  made  agricultural  iin- 
plements  or  tools,  such  as  spades,  yokes,  ploughs, 
etc.,  or  houseware,  chairs,  tables,  tubs,  etc.  Carving 
is  a  favorite  part  of  the  wood-worker's  business  in  the 
East  to-day,  and  probably  was  so  in  ancient  times. 
Justin  Martyr  says  that  Jesus  made  yokes  and  ploughs, 
and  he  spiritualizes  them  as  symbols  of  obedience  and 
activity.  Even  had  Christ  been  brought  up  to  wealth 
as  he  was  to  poverty,  there  would  be  no  reason  why 
he  should  not  have  learned  a  mechanical  trade.  In  this, 
as  in  so  many  other  respects,  the  Jewish  people  were 
in  prudence  greatly  in  advance  of  the  then  civilized 
world.  It  Avas  not  only  deemed  not  disgraceful  to  learn 
some  manual  trade,  but  a  parent  was  not  thought  to 
have  done  well  by  his  child's  education  who  had  not 
taught  him  how  to  earn  a  living  by  his  hands.  But 
in  Joseph's  case,  little  other  education,  it  is  probable, 
had  he  the  means  of  giving  his  son.  John  records  the 
surprise  of  the  scholars  of  the  Temple  upon  occasion 
of  one  of  Christ's  discourses  :  "  The  Jews  marvelled, 
saying,  How  knoweth  this  man  letters,  having  never 
learned?"  The  term  " letters "  was  used,  as  it  still  is, 
to  signify  literature,  and  in  this  case  religious  litera- 
ture, as  the  Jews  had  no  other.  There  is  no  evidence 
in  the  Lord's  discourse    that   the   occupations  of  his 


68  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

youth  had  any  special  influence  upon  his  thoughts  or 
imagination.  He  made  no  allusion  to  tools,  he  drew 
no  illustrations  from  the  processes  of  construction,  he 
said  nothing  which  would  suggest  that  he  had  wrought 
with  hammer  or  saw. 

More  attractive  io  the  heart  are  the  probable  in- 
fluences of  home.  It  will  always  make  home  more 
sacred  to  men,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  was  reared  by  a 
mother,  in  the  ordinary  life  of  the  household.  For 
children,  too,  there  is  a  Saviour,  who  was  in  all  things 
made  like  unto  them. 

Sacred  history  makes  everything  of  Mary,  and  noth- 
ing of  Joseph.  It  is  taken  for  granted  that  it  was 
with  his  mother  that  Jesus  held  most  intimate  com- 
munion. The  adoration  of  the  Virgin  by  the  Romish 
Church  has  doubtless  contributed  largely  to  this  belief 
There  is  nothing  improbable  in  it.  But  it  is  pure  sup- 
position. There  is  not  a  trace  of  any  facts  to  support 
it.  Though  an  ordinary  child  to  others,  that  Jesus 
was  to  his  parents  a  child  of  wonder,  can  scarcely  be 
doubted.  Such  manifestations  of  his  nature,  as  broke 
forth  at  twelve  years  of  age  in  the  Temple  scene, 
must  have  shown  themselves  at  other  times  in  vari- 
ous ways  at  home.  Yet  so  entirely  are  our  minds 
absorbed  in  his  later  teachings,  and  so  wholly  is  his 
life  summed  up  to  us  in  the  three  years  of  his  min- 
istry, that  we  are  not  accustomed  to  recall  and  fill  out 
his  youth  as  we  do  his  riper  years.  Who  imagines 
the  boy  Jesus  going  or  coming  at  command,  —  leav- 
ing home,  with  his  tools,  for  his  daily  work,  —  lifting 
timber,  laying  the  line,  scribing  the  pattern,  fitting 
and  finishing  the  job,  —  bargaining  for  work,  demand- 
ing and  receiving  his  wages,  —  conversing  with  fellow- 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  69 

workmen,  and  mingling  in  their  innocent  amusements? 
Yet  must  not  all  these  things  have  been  ?  We  must 
carry  along  with  us  that  interpreting  sentence,  which 
like  a  refrain  should  come  in  with  every  strain :  "  In 
all  things  it  behooved  him  to  be  made  like  unto  his 
brethren."     (Heb.  ii.  17.) 

In  the  synagogue  and  at  home  he  would  become  fa- 
miliar with  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.  This 
itself  was  no  insignificant  education.  The  institutes 
of  Moses  were  rich  in  political  wisdom.  They  have 
not  yet  expended  their  force.  The  commonwealth  es- 
tablished in  the  Desert  has  long  ceased,  but  its  seeds 
have  been  sown  in  other  continents ;  and  the  spirit  of 
democracy  which  to-day  is  gaining  ascendency  in 
every  land  has  owed  more  to  the  Mosaic  than  to  any 
other  political  institution. 

The  Saviour's  discourses  show  that  his  mind  was 
peculiarly  adapted  to  read  the  Book  of  Proverbs  with 
keen  relish.  Under  his  eye  the  practical  wisdom  of 
those  curt  sentences,  the  insight  into  men's  motives 
which  they  give,  those  shrewd  lessons  of  experience, 
must  have  had  a  larger  interpretation  than  they  were 
wont  to  receive.  If  one  has  observed  how  the  frigid 
annals  of  history,  when  Shakespeare  read  them,  blos- 
somed out  into  wonderfid  dramas,  he  can  partly  im- 
agine what  Solomon's  philosophy  must  have  become 
under  the  eye  of  Jesus. 

He  lived  in  the  very  sight  of  places  made  memor- 
able by  the  deeds  of  his  country's  greatest  men.  If  he 
sat,  on  still  Sabbaths,  upon  the  hill-top,  —  childlike,  alter- 
nately watching  and  musing,  —  he  must  at  times  have 
seen  the  shadowy  forms  and  heard  the  awful  tones  of 
those  extraordinary  men,  the  Hebrew  prophets.     There 


70  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

was  before  him  Gilboa-,  on  which  Samuel's  shadow  eama 
to  Saul  and  overthrew  him.  Across  these  plains  and 
over  these  solitary  mountains,  Elijah,  that  grandest 
and  most  dramatic  of  the  old  prophets,  had  often 
come,  and  disappeared  as  soon,  bearing  the  Lord's 
messao-es,  as  the  summer  storm  bears  the  li";htnino;. 
He  could  see  the  very  spots  where  Elisha,  prophet  of 
the  gentle  heart,  had  wrought  kind  miracles. 

The  sword  of  David  had  flashed  over  these  plains. 
But  it  is  David's  harp  that  has  conquered  the  world, 
and  his  psalms  must  have  been  the  channels  through 
which  the  soul  of  Jesus  often  found  its  way  back 
to  his  Heavenly  Father.  Not  even  in  his  youth  are 
we  to  suppose  that  Jesus  received  unquestioning  the 
writings  of  the  holy  men  of  his  nation.  He  had  come 
to  inspire  a  loftier  morality  than  belonged  to  the 
twilight  of  the  past.  How  early  he  came  to  himself, 
and  felt  within  him  the  motions  of  his  Godhood,  none 
can  tell.  At  twelve  he  overrode  the  interpretations 
of  the  doctors,  and,  as  one  having  authority,  sat  in 
judgment  upon  the  imperfect  religion  of  his  ancestors. 
This  first  visit  to  Jerusalem  stands  up  in  his  childhood 
as  Mount  Tabor  rises  from  the  plain,  —  the  one  soH- 
tary  point  of  definite  record. 

At  twelve,  the  Jewish  children  were  reckoned  in  the 
congregation  and  made  their  appearance  at  the  great 
annual  feasts.  Roads  were  unknown.  Along  paths,  on 
foot, —  the  feeble  carried  upon  mules, — the  people  made 
their  way  by  easy  stages  toward  the  beloved  city.  At 
each  step  new-comers  fell  into  the  ever-swelling  stream. 
Relatives  met  one  another,  friends  renewed  acquaint- 
ance, and  strangers  soon  lost  strangeness  in  hospitable 
company.     Had  it  been  an  Anglo-Saxon  pilgrimage,  all 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  71 

Palestine  would  scarcely  have  held  the  baggage-train 
of  a  race  that,  instead  of  making  a  home  everywhere, 
seek  everywhere  to  carry  their  home  with  them.  The 
abstemious  habits  of  the  Orientals  required  but  a 
slender  stock  of  provisions  and  no  cumbering  baggage. 
They  sang  their  sacred  songs  at  morning  and  evening, 
and  on  the  way.  Thus  one  might  hear  the  last  notes 
of  one  chant  dying  in  the  valley  as  the  first  note  of 
another  rose  upon  the  hill,  and  song  answered  to  song, 
and  echoed  all  along  the  pleasant  way. 

We  can  imagine  group  after  group  coming  at  even- 
ing into  the  valley  of  Samaria,  —  guarded  by  Gerizim 
and  Ebal,  —  beginning  to  feel  the  presence  of  those 
mountain  forms  which  continue  all  the  way  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  chanting  these  words  :  — 

"  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  Mils, 
From  whence  cometh  my  help. 
My  help  cometh  from  the  Lord, 
Which  made  heaven  and  earth. 
He  will  not  suffer  thy  foot  to  be  moved : 
He  that  keepeth  thee  will  not  slumber. 
Behold,  he  that  keepeth  Israel 
Shall  neither  slumber  nor  sleep. 
The  Lord  is  thy  keeper ; 
The  Lord  is  thy  shade  upon  thy  right  hand. 
The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day, 
Nor  the  moon  by  night. 
The  Lord  shall  preserve  thee  from  all  evil : 
He  shall  preserve  thy  soul. 
Tlie  Lord  shall  preserve  thy  going  out, 
And  thy  coming  in, 
From  this  time  forth, 
And  even  forevermore." 

Refreshed  by  sleep,  breaking  up  their  simple  camp, 
the  mingled  throng  at  early  morning  start  forth  again. 
A  voice  is  heard  chanting  a  psalm.     It  is  caught  up  by 


72  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

others.     The  whole  region  resounds.     And  these  are 
the  words :  — 

*'  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me, 
Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord. 
Our  fe2t  shall  stand 
Within  thy  gates,  O  Jerusalem  I 
Jerusalem  is  builded 
As  a  city  that  is  compact  together : 
Whither  the  tribes  go  up,  the  tribes  of  the  Lord, 
Unto  the  testimony  of  Israel, 
To  give  thanks  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
For  there  are  set  thrones  of  judgment, 
The  thrones  of  the  house  of  David. 
Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem  : 
They  shall  prosper  that  love  thee. 
Peace  be  within  thy  walls, 
And  prosperity  within  thy  palaces. 
For  my  brethren  and  companions'  sakes 

I  will  now  say,  Peace  be  within  thee,  < 

Because  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  our  God 
I  will  seek  thy  good." 

The  festival  over,  the  mighty  city  and  all  its  envi- 
rons sent  back  the  worshippers  to  their  homes.  It  had 
been  a  religious  festival,  but  not  the  less  an  uncon- 
strained social  picnic.  How  freely  they  mingled  with 
each  other,  group  with  group,  is  shown  in  the  fact  that 
Joseph  and  Mary  had  gone  a  day's  journey  on  the  road 
home  before  they  missed  their  child.  This  could  not 
have  been,  were  it  not  customary  for  the  parties  often 
to  break  up  and  mingle  in  new  combinations.  "  But 
they,  supposing  him  to  have  been  in  the  compan}^,  went 
a  day's  journey."  It  is  plain,  then,  that  at  twelve  years 
of  age  Jesus  had  outgrown  the  constant  watch  of  his 
parents'  eyes,  and  had  assumed  a  degree  of  manly  lib- 
erty. 

They  turned  back.  It  was  three  days  before  they 
found  him.     One  day  was  required  by  the  backward 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  73 

journey.  Two  days  they  must  have  wandered  in  and 
about  the  city,  anxiously  enough.  In  the  last  place 
in  which  they  dreamed  of  looking,  they  found  him,  — 
"in  the  temple,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  doctors, 
both  hearing  them,  and  asking  them  questions." 
Christ's  questions  were  always  like  spears  that  pierced 
the  joints  of  the  harness.  It  seems  that  even  so 
early  he  had  begun  to  wield  this  weapon. 

What  part  of  these  three  days  Jesus  had  spent  at  the 
Temple,  we  are  not  told.  But  we  may  be  sure  that  it 
was  a  refreshinor  time  in  that  dull  circle  of  doctors.  An 
ingenuous  youth,  frank,  and  not  hackneyed  by  the  con- 
ventional ways  of  the  world,  with  a  living  soul  and  a 
quick  genius,  is  always  a  fascinating  object,  and  per- 
haps even  more  to  men  who  have  grown  stiff  in  formal 
ways  than  to  others.  There  is  something  of  youthful 
feeling  and  of  fatherhood  yet  left  in  souls  that  for 
fifty  years  have  discussed  the  microscopic  atoms  of 
an  imaginary  philosophy.  Besides,  where  there  are 
five  doctors  of  philosophy  there  are  not  less  than  five 
opposing  schools,  and  in  this  case  each  learned  man 
must  needs  have  enjoyed  the  palpable  hits  which  his 
companions  received  from  the  stripling.  The  people 
who  stood  about  would  have  a  heart  for  the  child : 
what  crowd  would  not  ?  And,  if  he  held  his 
own  against  the  doctors  of  law,  all  the  more  the 
wonder  grew.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that 
a  spiritual  chord  vibrated  at  his  touch  in  the  hearts 
of  all  this  circle  of  experts  in  Temple  dialectics. 
Yet  we  would  fondly  imagine  that  one  at  least 
there  was  —  some  unnamed  Nicodemus,  or  another 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  —  who  felt  the  fire  burn  within 
him  as  this  child  spake-      Even  in  Sahara  there  are 


74  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,  THE   CHRIST. 

found  green  spots,  shaded  with  palms,  watered  and 
fruitful.  There  might  have  been  sweet-hearted  men 
among  the  Jewish  doctors! 

Upon  this  strange  school,  in  which  the  pupil  was  the 
teacher  and  the  teachers  were  puzzled  scholars,  came 
at  leno-th,  her  serene  face  now  flushed  with  alarm, 
the  mother  of  Jesus.  She,  all  mother,  with  love's 
reproach  said,  "Son,  why  hast  thou  thus  dealt  with 
us  ? "  and  he,  all  inspired  with  fastrcoming  thoughts, 
answered,  "Wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about  my 
Father's  business  ?  " 

Not  yet !  This  ministry  of  youth  was  not  whole- 
some. Premature  prodigies  have  never  done  God's 
work  on  earth.  It  would  have  pleased  the  appetite 
for  Avonder,  had  his  childhood  continued  to  emit  such 
flashes  as  came  forth  in  the  Temple.  But  such  is  not 
the  order  of  nature,  and  the  Son  of  God  had  con- 
sented to  be  "  made  under  the  law  "  !  It  is  plain,  from 
his  reply  to  his  mother,  that  he  was  conscious  of  the 
nature  that  was  in  him,  and  that  strong  impulses  urged 
him  to  disclose  his  power.  It  is  therefore  very  signifi- 
cant, and  not  the  least  of  the  signs  of  divinity,  that  he 
ruled  his  spirit,  and  dwelt  at  home  in  unmurmuring 
expectation.  "  He  went  down  with  them,  and  came  to 
Nazareth,  and  was  subject  unto  them."  (Luke  ii.  51.) 
This  might  well  be  said  to  be  to  his  childhood  what  the 
temptations  in  the  wilderness  were  to  his  ministry. 
The  modesty,  the  filial  piety,  the  perfectness  of  self- 
control,  contentment  in  mechanical  labor,  conscious  sov- 
ereignty undisclosed,  a  wealth  of  nature  kept  back,  — 
in  short,  the  holding  of  his  whole  being  in  tranquil  si- 
lence, waiting  for  growth  to  produce  his  ripe  self,  and 
for  God,  his  Father,  to  shake  out  the  seed  which  was 


CUILDEOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  75 

to  become  the  bread  of  the  world,  —  all  this  is  in  itself 
a  wonder  of  divinity,  if  men  were  only  wise  enough 
to  marvel.  Christ's  greatest  miracles  were  wrought 
within  himself. 

In  a  review  of  the  childhood  of  Jesus,  there  are 
several  points  which  deserve  special  attention. 

1.  While  it  is  true  that,  by  incarnation,  the  Son 
of  God  became  subject  to  all  human  conditions,  and, 
among  them,  to  the  law  of  gradual  development,  by 
which  "he  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature," — for  "the 
child  grciij,  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit,"  —  we  must 
not  fill  into  the  error  of  supposing  that  Jesus  was 
moulded  by  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed. 
Not  his  mother,  nor  the  scenery,  nor  the  national  as- 
sociations, nor  the  occupations  of  his  thirty  3^ears, 
fashioned  him.  Only  natures  of  a  lower  kind  are 
shaped  by  circumstances.  Great  natures  unfold  by 
the  force  of  that  which  is  within  them.  When  food 
nourishes,  it  receives  the  power  to  do  so  by  that  which 
the  vital  power  of  the  body  gives  it.  Food  does  not 
give  life,  but  by  assimilation  receives  it.  Christ  was 
not  the  creation  of  his  age.  We  may  trace  occasions 
and  external  influences  of  which  he  availed  himself, 
but  his  original  nature  contained  in  its  germ  all  that 
he  was  to  be,  and  needed  only  a  normal  unfolding. 

The  absolute  independence  from  all  external  forma- 
tive influence,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  essential  self, 
was  never  so  sublimely  asserted  as  when  Jehovah 
declared,  "I  am  that  I  am."  But,  without  extrava- 
gance or  immodesty,  the  mother  of  Jesus  might  have 
written  this  divine  legend  upon  his  cradle. 

2.  Wo  have  said  nothini*;  of  the  brothers  and  sisters 


76  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHFilST. 

of  our  Lord.  They  are  not  only  mentioned,  but  the 
names  of  his  brothers  are  given,  and  allusions  are 
made  to  them  in  several  instances.^  Yet  the  matter 
does  not  prove  upon  examination  to  be  as  simjDle  as  at 
first  sight  it  seems. 

Undoubtedly,  it  suited  the  peculiar  ideas  which  were 
early  developed  in  the  Church,  to  consider  Jesus  not 
only  the  first-born,  but  the  only,  child  of  Mnry.  But 
there  are  real  and  intrinsic  difficulties  in  the  case. 
The  term  brethren  was  often  used  in  the  general  sense 
of  relative.  To  this  day  authorities  of  the  highest 
repute  are  divided  in  opinion,  and  in  about  equal 
proportions  on  each  side.  There  are  several  suppo- 
sitions concerning  these  brothers  and  sisters :  They 
were  the  children  of  Joseph  by  a  former  marriage ; 
or,  they  were  adopted  from  a  deceased  brother's 
family;  or,  they  were  the  children  of  a  sister  of  the 
mother  of  Jesus,  and  so  cousins-german  to  him ; 
or,  they  were  the  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary, 
and  so  the  real  brothers  of  Jesus.  We  shall  not 
enter  upon  the  argument.^  The  chief  point  of  in- 
terest is  not  in  doubt :  namely,  that  our  Lord  was  not 
brought  up  alone  in  a  household  as  an  only  child ; 
that  he  was  a  child  among  children  ;  that  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  those  who  were  to  him,  either  really  his 
own  brothers  and  sisters,  or  just  the  same  in  senti- 
ment. He  had  this  ordinary  experience  of  childhood. 
The  unconscious  babe  in  the  cradle  has  a  Saviour 
who  once  was  as  sweetly  helpless  as  it  is.     The  prat- 

*  ]\Littlic;w  xii.  4G-50;  xiii.  55,  5C.  Mark  iii.  31 ;  vi.  3.  Luke  viii.  19. 
John  ii.  12;  vii.  3.     Acts  i.  14. 

*  Those  who  desire  to  investigate  the  matter  may  sec  Andrews's  very 
clear  and  judicial  estimate  of  the  case  (Life  of  our  Lord,  pp.  101-  IIG); 
also,  Lange,  Life  of  Christ,  Vol.  I.  pp.  421-437. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  77 

tling  child  is  passing  along  that  path  over  which 
the  infant  footprints  of  Jesus  were  marked.  The 
later  friendships  of  brothers  and  sisters  derive  a 
sacred  influence  from  the  love  which  Jesus  bore  to  his 
sisters  while  growing  up  with  them.  There  is  thus 
an  example  for  the  household,  and  a  gospel  for  the 
nursery,  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  as  well  as  an  "ensarnple" 
in  his  manhood  for  the  riper  years  of  men. 

3.  While  we  do  not  mean  to  raise  and  discuss,  in 
this  work,  the  many  difficulties  which  are  peculiar  to 
critics,  there  is  one  connected  with  this  period  of  our 
Lord's  life  which  we  shall  mention,  for  the  sake  of 
laying  down  certain  principles  which  should  guide  us 
in  reading  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 

Matthew  declares  that  "  he  came  and  dwelt  in  a  city 
called  Nazareth :  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was 
spoken  by  the  prophets.  He  shall  be  called  a  Naz- 
arene."  No  such  line  has  ever  been  found  in  the 
prophets. 

Infinite  ingenuity  of  learning  has  been  brought  to 
bear  upon  this  difficulty,  Avithout  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree solving  it.  It  is  said  that  the  term  "  Nazareth  "  is 
derived  from  iiebxr,  a  sprout,  as  the  region  around 
Nazareth  is  covered  with  bushes ;  and  by  coupling 
this  with  Isaiah  xi.  1,  Avhere  the  Messiah  is  predict- 
^  cd  under  the  name  of  a  Branch,  the  connection  is 
established.  That  Mr.tthcw,  the  most  literal  and 
unimaginative  of  all  the  Evangelists,  should  have  be- 
taken himself  to  such  a  subtle  trick  of  lanii'uacj'e, 
Avould  not  surprise  us  had  he  lived  in  England 
in  Shakespeare's  time.  But  as  he  wrote  to  Jews 
who  did  not  believe  that  Christ  was  the  Messiah,  we 
should,  by  adopting  this  play  on  words,  only  change 


78  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,  TEE  CHRIST. 

the  verbal  difficulty  into  a  psychological  one  still 
more  vexatious. 

Others  have  supposed  that  Matthew  referred  to 
some  apocryphal  book,  or  to  some  prophecy  now 
lost.  This  is  worse  than  ingenious.  It  is  perverse. 
The  Old  Testament  canon  was,  and  had  long  been, 
complete  when  Matthew  wrote.  What  evidence  is 
there  that  anything  had  ever  been  dropped  from  it, 
—  or  that  any  apocryphal  book  had  ever  existed,  con- 
taining this  sentence  ?  Is  our  faith  in  the  inspired 
record  helped  or  hindered  by  the  introduction  of  such 
groundless  fancies  ?  The  difficulty  of  the  text  is  not 
half  so  dangerous  as  is  such  a  liberty  taken  in  explain- 
ing it.  Others  of  this  ingenious  band  of  scholars 
derive  the  name  Nazarene  from  who;  that  which 
guards.  Others  think  that  it  is  from  neh-e?;  to  separate, 
as  if  the  Messiah  were  to  be  a  NazanV^,  which  he  was 
not;  nor  was  it  anywhere  in  the  Old  Testament  pre- 
dicted that  he  should  be.  Lange  supposes  that,  already 
when  Matthew  wrote,  Nazarene  had  become  a  term  of 
such  universal  reproach,  as  to  be  equivalent  to  the 
general  representations  of  the  prophets  that  the  Mes- 
siah should  be  despised  and  rejected,  and  that  it  might 
even  be  interchangeable  with  them.  The  whole  ground 
of  this  explanation  is  an  assumption.  That  Nazarene 
was  a  term  of  reproach,  is  very  likely,  but  that  it  had 
become  a  generic  epithet  for  humiliation,  rejection, 
scorn,  persecution,  and  all  maltreatment,  is  nowhere 
evident,  and  not  at  all  probable. 

But  Avhat  would  happen  if  it  should  be  said  that 
Matthew  recorded  the  current  impression  of  his  time 
in  attributing  this  declaration  to  the  Old  Testament 
prophets?    Would  a  mere  error  of  reference  invali- 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  79 

date  the  trustworthiness  of  the  EvangeUst?  We  lean 
our  whole  weight  upon  men  who  are  fallible.  Must 
a  record  be  totally  infallible  before  it  can  be  trusted 
at  all  ?  Navigators  trust  ship,  cargo,  and  the  lives  of 
all  on  board,  to  calculations  based  on  tables  of  loga- 
rithms, knowing  that  there  was  never  a  set  computed, 
without  machinery,  that  had  not  some  errors  in  it. 
The  supposition,  that  to  admit  that  there  are  imma- 
terial and  incidental  mistakes  in  the  Sacred  Writ 
would  break  the  confidence  of  men  in  it,  is  contra- 
dicted by  the  uniform  experience  of  life,  and  by  the 
whole  procedure  of  society. 

On  the  contrary,  the  shifts  and  ingenuities  to  which 
critics  are  obliofed  to  resort  either  blunts  the  sense  of 
truth,  or  disgusts  men  with  the  special  pleading  of  crit- 
ics, and  tends  powerfully  to  general  unbelief 

The  theory  of  Inspiration  must  be  founded  upon  the 
claims  which  the  Scriptures  themselves  make.  "All 
Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profita- 
ble for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruc- 
tion in  righteousness;  that  the  man  of  God  may  be 
perfect,  throughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works." 
(2  Tim.  iii.  16,  17.) 

Under  this  declaration,  no  more  can  be  claimed  for 
the  doctrine  of  Inspiration  than  that  there  shall  have 
been  such  an  influence  exerted  upon  the  formation  of 
the  record  that  it  shall  be  the  truth  respecting  God,  and 
no  falsity ;  that  it  shall  so  expound  the  duty  of  man 
under  God's  moral  government,  as  to  secure,  in  all  who 
will,  a  true  holiness ;  that  it  shall  contain  no  errors 
which  can  affect  the  essential  truths  taught,  or  which 
shall  cloud  the  reason  or  sully  the  moral  sense. 

But   it  is   not  right  or  prudent  to  infer,  from  the 


80  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

Biblical  statement  of  inspiration,  that  it  makes  pro- 
vision for  the  very  words  and  sentences ;  that  it  shall 
raise  the  inspired  penmen  above  the  possibility  of  lit- 
erary inaccuracy,  or  minor  and  immaterial  mistakes. 
It  is  enough  if  the  Bible  be  a  sure  and  sufficient  guide 
to  spiritual  morality  and  to  rational  piety.  To  erect  for 
it  a  claim  to  absolute  literary  infallibility,  or  to  infalli- 
bility in  things  not  directly  pertaining  to  fliith,  is  to 
weaken  its  real  authority,  and  to  turn  it  aside  from  its 
avowed  purpose.  The  theory  of  verbal  inspiration 
brings  a  strain  upon  the  Word  of  God  which  it  cannot 
bear.  If  rigorously  pressed,  it  tends  powerfully  to 
bigotry  on  the  one  side  and  to  infidelity  on  the  other. 

The  inspiration  of  holy  men  is  to  be  construed  as 
we  do  the  doctrine  of  an  overruling  and  special  Provi- 
dence ;  of  the  divine  supervision  and  guidance  of  the 
Church  ;  of  the  faithfulness  of  God  in  answering 
prayer.  The  truth  of  these  doctrines  is  not  inconsis- 
tent with  the  existence  of  a  thousand  evils,  mischiefs, 
and  mistakes,  and  with  the  occurrence  of  wanderings 
long  and  almost  fiital.  Yet,  the  general  supervision 
of  a  Divine  Providence  is  rational.  We  might  expect 
that  there  would  be  an  analogy  between  God's  care 
and  education  of  the  race,  and  His  care  of  the  Bible 
in  its  formation. 

Around  the  central  certainty  of  saving  truth  are 
wrapped  the  swaddling-clothes  of  human  language. 
Neither  the  condition  of  the  human  understanding,  nor 
the  nature  of  human  speech,  which  is  the  vehicle  of 
thought,  admits  of  more  than  a  fragmentary  and  par- 
tial presentation  of  truth.  "  For  we  know  in  imrt,  and 
we  prophesy  in iiarL'"  (1  Cor.  xiii.  9.)  Still  less  are  we 
then  to  expect  that  there  will  be  perfection  in  this 


CHILDHOOD  AND  RESIDENCE  AT  NAZARETH.  81 

vehicle.  And  incidental  errors,  which  do  not  reach  the 
substance  of  truth  and  duty,  which  touch  only  contin- 
gent and  external  elements,  are  not  to  be  regarded  as 
inconsistent  with  the  fact  that  the  Scriptures  were  i^i- 
spired  of  God.  Nor  will  our  reverence  for  the  Scrip- 
tures be  impaired  if,  in  such  cases,  it  be  frankly  said, 
Here  is  an  insoluble  difficulty.  Such  a  course  is  far 
less  dangerous  to  the  moral  sense  than  that  pernicious 
ingenuity  which,  assuming  that  there  can  be  no  literal 
errors  in  Scripture,  resorts  to  subtle  arts  of  criticism, 
improbabilities  of  statement,  and  violence  of  construc- 
tion, such  as,  if  made  use  of  m  the  intercourse  of 
men  in  daily  life,  would  break  up  society  and  destroy 
all  faith  of  man  in  man. 

We  dwell  at  length  upon  this  topic  now,  that  we 
may  not  be  obliged  to  recur  to  it  when,  as  will  be  the 
case,  other  instances  arise  in  which  there  is  no  solution 
of  unimportant,  though  real,  literary  difficulties. 

There  are  a  multitude  of  minute  and,  on  the  whole, 
as  respects  the  substance  of  truth,  not  important  ques- 
tions and  topics,  which,  like  a  fastened  door,  refuse  to 
be  opened  by  any  key  which  learning  has  brought  to 
them.  It  is  better  to  let  them  stand  closed  than,  like 
impatient  mastiffs,  after  long  barking  in  vain,  to  he 
whining  at  the  door,  unable  to  enter  and  unwilHng  to 
go  away. 


82  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER    y. 

THE  VOICE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS. 

The  long  silence  is  ended.  The  seclusion  is  over, 
with  all  its  wondrous  inward  experience,  of  which  no 
record  has  been  made,  and  which  must  therefore  be 
left  to  a  reverent  imagination.  Jesus  has  now  reached 
the  age  which  custom  has  established  among  his  peo- 
ple for  the  entrance  of  a  priest  upon  his  public  duty. 

But,  first,  another  voice  is  to  be  heard.  Before  the 
ministry  of  Love  begins,  there  is  to  be  one  more  great 
prophet  of  the  Law,  who,  with  stern  and  severe  fidel- 
ity, shall  stir  the  conscience,  and,  as  it  were,  open  the 
furrows  in  which  the  seeds  of  the  new  life  are  to  be 
sown. 

Every  nation  has  its  men  of  genius.  The  direction 
which  their  genius  takes  will  be  determined  largely  by 
the  peculiar  education  which  arises  from  the  position 
and  history  of  the  nation ;  but  it  will  also  depend  upon 
the  innate  tendencies  of  the  race-stock. 

The  original  tribal  organizations  of  Israel  were 
moulded  by  the  laws  and  institutions  of  Moses  into  a 
commonwealth  of  peculiar  characteristics.  E:ich  tribe 
scrupulously  preserved  its  autonomy,  and  in  its  own 
province  had  a  local  independence ;  while  the  whole 
were  grouped  and  confederated  around  the  Tabernacle, 
and  afterwards  about  its  outgrowth,  the  Temple.  On 
the  one  side,  the  nation  approximated  to  a  democracy ; 


THE    VOICE  IN  TUE   WILDERNESS.  83 

on  the  other,  to  a  monarchy.  But  the  throne,  inde- 
pendent of  the  people,  was  not  independent  of  an  aris- 
tocracj.  The  priestly  class  combined  in  itself,  as  in 
Egypt,  the  civil  and  sacerdotal  functions.  The  Hebrew 
government  was  a  theocratic  democracy.  A  fierce  and 
turbulent  people  had  great  power  over  the  govern- 
ment. The  ruling  class  was,  as  in  Egypt  it  had  been, 
the  priestly  class.  The  laws  which  regulated  personal 
rights,  property,  industry,  marriage,  revenue,  military 
affairs,  and  religious  worship  were  all  ecclesiastical, — 
were  interpreted  and  administered  by  the  hierarchy. 
The  doctrine  of  a  future  existence  had  no  place  in  the 
Mosaic  economy,  either  as  a  dogma  or  as  a  moral  influ- 
ence. The  sphere  of  religion  was  wholly  within  the 
secular  horizon.  There  was  no  distinction,  as  with  us, 
of  things  civil  and  things  moral.  All  moral  duties 
were  civil,  and  all  civil  were  moral  duties.  Priest 
and  magistrate  were  one.  Patriotism  and  piety  were 
identical.  The  military  organization  of  the  Jews  was 
Levitical.  The  priest  wore  the  sword,  took  part  in 
planning  campaigns,  and  led  the  people  in  battle.^  The 
Levitical  body  was  a  kind  of  national  university.  Lit- 
erature, learning,  and  the  fine  arts,  in  fo  far  as  they 
had  existence,  were  preserved,  nourished,  and  diffused 
by  the  priestly  order. 

Under  such  circumstances,  genius  must  needs  be  re- 
ligious. It  must  develop  itself  in  analogy  with  the 
history  and  institutions  of  the  people.  The  Hebrew 
man  of  genius  was  the  prophet.  The  strict  priest 
was  narrow  and  barren ;  the  prophet  was  a  son  of 
liberty,  a  child  of  inspiration.     All  other  men  touched 

'  For  some  instructive  and  interesting  remarks  on  this  topic,  see  A.  P. 
Stanley,  Jewish  Church,  §  2,  p.  448. 


84  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

the  ground.  He  only  had  wings ;  he  was  orator,  poet, 
smger,  civiHan,  statesman.  Of  no  close  profession, 
he  performed  the  functions  of  all,  as  by  turns,  in  the 
great  personal  freedom  of  his  career,  he  needed  their 
elements. 

That  temperament  which  now  underlies  genius  was 
also  the  root  of  the  prophetic  nature.  In  ordinary 
men,  the  mind-system  is  organized  with  only  that 
deo-ree  of  sensibihty  which  enables  it  to  act  under 
the  stimulus  of  external  influences.  The  ideal  perfect 
man  is  one  who,  in  addition,  has  such  fineness  and 
sensibility  as  to  originate  conceptions  from  interior 
cerebral  stimulus.  He  acts  without  w^aiting  for  ex- 
ternal solicitation.  The  particular  mode  of  this  auto- 
matic action  varies  with  different  persons.  With  all, 
however,  it  has  this  in  common,  that  the  mind  does  not 
creep  step  by  step  toward  knowledge,  gaining  it  by  lit- 
tle and  little.  It  is  rather  as  if  knowledge  came  upon 
the  soul  by  a  sudden  flash ;  or  as  if  the  mind  itself 
had  an  illuminating  power,  by  which  suddenly  and  in- 
stantly it  poured  forth  light  upon  external  things.  This 
was  early  called  inspiration,  as  if  the  gods  had  breathed 
into  the  soul  something  of  their  omniscience.  It  is  still 
called  inspiration. 

If  the  intellect  alone  has  this  power  of  exaltation 
and  creativeness,  we  shall  behold  genius  in  literature 
or  science.  But  if  there  be  added  an  eminent  moral 
sense  and  comprehensive  moral  sentiments,  we  shall 
have,  in  peaceful  times,  men  who  will  carry  ideas 
of  right,  of  justice,  of  mercy,  far  beyond  the  bounds  at 
which  they  found  them,  —  moral  teachers,  judges,  and 
creative  moralists;  and  in  times  of  storm,  reformers 
and  martyrs. 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  35 

This  constitution  of  genius  is  not  something  abnor- 
mal. Complete  development  of  all  the  body  and  all 
the  mind,  with  a  susceptibility  to  automatic  activity,  is 
ripe  and  proper  manhood.  To  this  the  whole  race  is 
perhaps  approximating,  and,  in  the  perfect  day,  will 
attain. 

But  in  a  race  rising  slowly  out  of  animal  condition, 
in  possession  of  unripe  faculties,  left  almost  to  chance 
for  education,  there  sometimes  come  these  higher  na- 
tures, men  of  genius,  who  are  not  to  be  deemed  crea- 
tures of  another  nature,  lifted  above  their  fellows  for 
their  own  advantage  and  enjoyment.  They  are  only 
elder  brethren  of  the  race.  They  are  appointed  lead- 
ers, going  before  their  child-brethren,  to  inspire  them 
with  higher  ideas  of  life,  and  to  show  them  the  way. 
By  their  nature  and  position  they  are  forerunners,  seers, 
and  foreseers. 

Such  men,  among  the  old  Jews,  became  prophets. 
But  a  prophet  was  more  than  one  who  foretold  events. 
He  forefelt  and  fore  taught  high  moral  truths.  He  had 
escaped  the  thrall  of  passion  in  which  other  men  lived, 
and,  without  help  inherited  from  old  civilizations,  by 
the  force  of  the  Divine  Spirit  acting  upon  a  nature 
of  genius  in  moral  directions,  he  went  ahead  of  his  na- 
tion and  of  his  age,  denouncing  evil,  revealing  justice, 
enjoining  social  purity,  and  inspiring  a  noble  piety. 
A  prophet  was  born  to  his  office.  Whoever  found  in 
himself  the  uprising  soul,  the  sensibility  to  divine 
truth,  the  impulse  to  proclaim  it,  might,  if  he  pleased, 
be  a  prophet,  in  the  peculiar  sense  of  declaring  the 
truth  and  enforcing  moral  ideas.  The  call  of  God,  in 
all  ages,  has  come  to  natures  already  prepared  for  the 
office  to  which  they  were   called.     Here  was  a  call 


86  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

in  birth-structure.  This  was  well  understood  by  the 
prophets.  Jeremiah  explicitly  declares  that  he  was 
created  to  the  prophetic  office  :  "The  word  of  the  Lord 
came  unto  me,  saying,  Before  I  formed  thee  in  the 
belly  I  knew  thee ;  and  before  thou  camest  forth  out 
of  the  womb  I  sanctified  thee,  and  I  ordained  thee 
a  prophet  unto  the  nations."  (Jer.  i.  4,  5.)  When  God 
calls  men,  he  calls  thoroughly  and  begins  early. 

The  prophets,  although  wielding  great  influence, 
seem  not  to  have  been  inducted  into  office  by  any 
ecclesiastical  authority.  There  was  no  provision,  at 
least  in  early  times,  for  their  continuance  and  succes- 
sion in  the  community.  There  was  no  regular  suc- 
cession. Occasionally  they  shot  up  from  the  people, 
by  the  impulse  of  their  own  natures,  divinely  moved. 
They  were  confined  to  no  grade  or  class.  They  might 
be  priests  or  commoners ;  they  might  come  of  any  tribe. 
In  two  instances  eminent  prophets  were  women ;  and 
one  of  them,  Huldah,  was  of  such  repute  that  to  her, 
though  Jeremiah  was  then  alive  and  in  fall  authority, 
King  Josiah  sent  for  advice  in  impending  public  dan- 
ger.    (2  Kings  xxii.  14  -  20.) 

It  was  from  the  free  spirit  of  the  prophet  in  the 
old  Jewish  nation,  and  not  from  the  priesthood,  that 
religious  ideas  grew,  and  enlarged  interpretations  of 
religion  proceeded.  The  priest  indeed  had  a  very 
limited  sphere.  The  nature  of  the  Temple  service  re- 
quired him  to  be  but  little  conversant  with  the  living 
souls  of  men,  and  as  little  with  ideas.  In  preparing 
the  sacrifices  of  oxen,  of  sheep,  of  birds,  the  Temple  or 
Tabernacle  could  have  appeared  to  the  modern  eye  but 
little  less  repulsive  than  a  huge  ahcdtoir.  The  priests, 
with    axe    and   knife,  slaughtering   herds  of  animals, 


THE    VOICE  IN  THE    WILDERNESS.  g7 

needed  to  be,  and  certainly  in  the  early  days  were, 
men  of  nerve  and  muscle,  rather  than  men  of  rich 
emotion  or  of  strong  religious  feeling/  The  subordi- 
nate priests  had  as  little  occasion  for  moral  feelino-,  in 
the  performance  of  their  ordinary  duties,  as  laborers 
in  the  shambles.  The  higher  officers  were  neither 
teachers  nor  preachers.  In  scarcely  a  single  point, 
from  the  high-priest  downward,  do  the  members  of 
the  Jewish  hierarchy  resemble  the  Christian  minister. 
It  is  true  that  the  Levites  were  appointed  to  instruct 
the  people  in  the  Law  ;  but  this  instruction  consisted 
merely  in  an  occasional  public  reading  of  the  Levitical 
Scriptures.  Until  after  the  captivity,  and  down  to  a 
comparatively  late  period  in  Jewish  history,  this  func- 
tion w^as  irregularly  performed,  and  w^ith  but  little 
effect.  If  there  had  been  no  other  source  of  moral 
influence  than  the  priesthood,  the  people  might  almost 
as  well  have  been  left  to  themselves. 

The  prophetic  impulse  had  been  felt  long  before  the 
Levitical  institutes  were  framed.  Now  and  then,  at 
wide  intervals,  men  of  genius  had  arisen,  who  carried 
forward  the  moral  sentiment  of  their  age.  They  en- 
larged the  bounds  of  truth,  and  deepened  in  the  con- 
sciences of  men  moral  and  religious  obligations.  It  is 
only  through  the  imagination  that  rude  natures  can  be 
spiritually  influenced.      These  men  were   often  great 

^  'Wlien  Solomon  brought  up  the  ark  and  the  sacred  vessel  to  the  new 
Temple,  it  is  said  that  he  sacrificed  sheep  and  oxen  "  that  could  not  be  told 
nor  numbered  for  multitude,"  and,  at  the  close  of  the  dedicatory  services, 
"  Solomon  offered  a  sacrifice  of  peace-offerings,  -which  he  oifered  unto  the 
Lord,  two  and  twenty  thousand  oxen,  and  an  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
sheep.  So  the  king  and  all  the  children  of  Israel  dedicated  the  house  of 
the  Lord."  (1  Kings  viii.  5,  G3  )  This  must  have  been  the  climax.  Such 
gigantic  slaughters  could  not  have  been  common.  But  the  regular  sacrifices 
involved  the  necessity  of  killing  vast  numbers  of  animals. 


88  TUB  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

moral  dramatists.  They  kept  themselves  aloof.  Some 
of  them  dwelt  in  solitary  places,  and  came  upon  the 
people  at  miexpected  moments.  The  prophets  were 
intensely  patriotic.  They  were  the  defenders  of  the 
common  people  against  oppressive  rulers,  and  they 
stirred  them  up  to  throw  off  foreign  rule.  Wild  and 
weird  as  they  often  were,  awful  in  their  severity,  car- 
rying justice  at  times  to  the  most  bloody  and  terrific 
sacrifices,  they  were  notwithstanding  essentially  hu- 
mane, sympathetic,  and  good.  The  old  jDrophets  were 
the  men  in  whom,  in  a  desolate  age,  and  in  almost 
savage  conditions  of  society,  the  gentler  graces  of  the 
soul  took  refuge.  We  must  not  be  deceived  by  their 
rugged  exterior,  nor  by  the  battle  which  they  made  for 
the  right.  Humanity  has  its  severities ;  and  even  love, 
striving;  for  the  crown,  must  fio-ht.  Like  all  men  who 
reform  a  corrupt  age,  the  rude  violence  of  the  prophets 
was  exerted  against  the  animal  that  is  in  man,  for  the 
sake  of  his  spiritual  nature. 

Had  there  been  but  the  influence  of  the  Temple  or 
of  the  Tabernacle  to  repress  and  limit  the  outflow  of 
those  passions  which  make  themselves  channels  in 
every  society  of  men,  they  would  have  swept  like  a 
flood,  and  destroyed  the  foundations  of  civil  life.  It 
was  the  prophet  who  kept  alive  the  moral  sense  of  the 
people.  He  taught  no  subtilties.  It  was  too  early, 
and  this  was  not  the  nation,  for  such  philosophy  as 
sprung  up  in  Greece.  The  prophet  seized  those  great 
moral  truths  which  inhere  in  the  very  soul  of  man,  and 
which  natural  and  revealed  religion  hold  in  common. 
Their  own  feelings  were  roused  by  mysterious  contact 
with  the  forces  of  the  invisible  world.  They  con- 
fronted alike  the  court  and  the  nation  with  audacious 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  89 

fidelity.  Often  themselves  of  the  sacerdotal  order,  and 
exercising  the  sacrificial  functions  of  the  priest  (as  in 
the  instance  of  Samuel),  yet  when,  in  later  times,  true 
spirituality  had  been  overlaid  and  destroyed  by  ritu- 
alism, they  turned  against  the  priest,  the  ritual,  and  the 
Temple.  They  trod  under  foot  the  artificial  sanctity 
of  religious  usages,  and  vindicated  the  authority  of 
morality,  humanity,  and  simple  personal  piety  against 
the  superstitions  and  the  exactions  of  religious  institu- 
tions and  their  officials, 

Jeremiah  speaks  so  slightingly  of  sacrifices  as  to  seem 
to  deny  their  divine  origin.  He  represents  God  as  say- 
ing :  "  For  I  spake  not  unto  your  fathers,  nor  com- 
manded them  in  the  day  that  I  brought  them  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt,  concerning  burnt-offerings  or  sacri- 
fices. But  this  thing  commanded  I  them,  saying,  Obey 
my  voice,  and  I  will  be  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  my 
people."     (Jer.  vii.  22,  23.) 

Isaiah  is  even  bolder :  "  To  what  purpose  is  the 
multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto  me  ?  .  .  .  .  Your  new 

moons  and  your  appointed  feasts  my  soul  hateth 

Your  hands  are  full  of  blood.     Wash  you,  make  you 

clean Seek  judgment,  relieve  the  oppressed,  judge 

the  fatherless,  plead  for  the  widow."     (Isa.  i.  11  - 17.) 

Amos,  in  impetuous  wrath,  cries  out :  "  I  hate,  I  de- 
spise your  feast-days,  and  I  will   not  smell  in  your 

solemn  assemblies Take  thou  away  from  me  the 

noise  of  thy  songs But  let  judgment  run  down 

as  waters,  and  righteousness  as  a  mighty  stream." 
(Amos  V.  21  -  24.) 

Considering  the  honor  in  which  he  was  held,  and  the 
influence  allowed  him,  the  old  j)ropliet  was  the  freest- 
speaking  man  on  record.     Not  the  king,  nor  his  coun- 


90  TnE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

sellers,  nor  priests,  nor  the  people,  nor  prophets  them- 
selves, had  any  terror  for  him.  When  the  solemn  in- 
fluence coming  from  the  great  invisible  world  set  in 
upon  his  soul,  his  whole  nature  moved  to  it,  as  the 
tides  move  to  celestial  power. 

But  the  prophet  did  not  live  always,  nor  even  often, 
in  these  sublime  elevations  of  feeling.  The  popidar 
notion  that,  wrapt  in  moods  of  grandeur,  he  was  al- 
ways looking  into  the  future,  and  drawing  forth  secrets 
from  it3  mysterious  depths,  —  a  Aveird  fisher  upon  the 
shores  of  the  infinite,  —  is  the  very  reverse  of  truth. 
Revelatory  inspirations  were  occasional  and  rare. 
They  seldom  came  except  in  some  imminent  catastro- 
phe of  the  nation,  or  upon  some  high-handed  aggres- 
sion of  idolatry  or  of  regal  immorality.  The  prophet 
labored  with  his  hands,  or  was  a  teacher.  At  certain 
periods,  it  would  seem  as  if  in  his  care  were  placed  the 
music,  the  poetry,  the  oratory,  and  even  the  jurispru- 
dence of  the  nation.  The  phrase  "to  prophesy"  at 
first  signified  an  uncontrollable  utterance  under  an 
overruling  possession,  or  inspiration.  It  was  an  irre-- 
sistible  rhapsody,  frequently  so  like  that  of  the  insane, 
that  in  early  times,  and  among  some  nations  even 
yet,  the  insane  were  looked  upon  with  some  awe,  as 
persons  overcharged  with  the  prophetic  spirit.  But 
in  time  the  term  assumed  the  meaning  of  moral  dis- 
course, vehement  preaching ;  and  finally  it  included 
simple  moral  teaching.  In  the  later  periods  of  Jewish 
history,  the  term  "  to  prophesy "  was  understood  in 
much  the  same  sense  as  our  phrases  "  to  instruct,"  "  to 
indoctrinate."  Paul  says,  "  He  that  prophesieth  speak- 
eth  unto  men  to  edification,  and  exhortation,  and  com- 
fort."    (1  Cor.  xiv.  3.)     The  criticisms  and  commands 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE    WILDERNESS.  91 

of  the  Apostle  respecting  prophecy  show  clearly  that 
in  his  day  it  was  in  the  nature  of  sudden,  impulsive, 
impassioned  discourse,  —  that  it  was,  in  short,  sacred 
oratory. 

The  absolute  spontaneity  of  the  old  prophet,  in  con- 
trast with  the  perfunctory  priest,  is  admirable.  Out 
of  a  ritual  service  rigid  as  a  rock  is  seen  gushing  a 
liberty  of  utterance  that  reminds  one  of  the  rock  in 
the  wilderness  when  smitten  with  the  prophet's  rod. 
Although  the  prophets  were  the  religious  men,  far  more 
revered  for  sanctity  than  the  priests,  it  was  not  because 
they  held  aloof  from  secular  affairs.  They  were  often 
men  of  rigor,  but  never  ascetics.  They  never  despised 
common  humanity,  either  in  its  moral  or  in  its  secular 
relations. 

The  prophet  was  sometimes  the  chief  justice  of  the 
nation,  as  Samuel ;  or  a  councillor  at  court,  as  Nathan ; 
or  a  retired  statesman,  consulted  by  the  rulers,  as 
Elisha ;  or  an  iron  reformer,  as  Elijah ;  or  the  censor 
and  theologian,  as  Isaiah,  who,  like  Dante,  clothed  phi- 
losophy Avith  the  garb  of  poetry,  that  it  might  have 
power  to  search  and  to  purify  society.  But  whatever 
else  he  was,  the  prophet  w^as  the  great  exemplar  of 
personal  freedom.  He  represented  absolute  personal 
liberty  in  religious  thought.  He  often  opposed  the 
government,  but  in  favor  of  the  state  ;  he  inveighed 
against  the  church,  but  on  behalf  of  religion  ;  he  de- 
nounced the  people,  but  always  for  their  own  highest 
good. 

It  must  be  through  some  such  avenue  of  thought 
that  one  approaches  the  last  great  prophet  of  the  Jew- 
ish nation.  The  morning  star  of  a  new  era,  John  is 
speedily  lost  in  the  blaze  of  Him  who  was  and  is  the 


92  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

"  Light  of  the  world."  His  history  seems  short.  The 
child  of  prophecy,  —  the  youth  secluded  in  the  soli- 
tudes,—  the  voice  in  the  wilderness, —  the  crowds  on 
the  Jordan, —  the  grasp  of  persecution,  —  the  death  in 
prison,  —  this  is  the  outline  of  his  story.  But  in  the 
filling  up,  what  substance  of  manhood  must  have  been 
there,  what  genuine  power,  what  moral  richness  in 
thought  and  feeling,  what  chivalric  magnanimity,  to 
have  drawn  from  Jesus  the  eulogy,  "  Among  those  that 
are  born  of  women  there  is  not  a  greater  prophet  than 
John  the  Baptist"!  But  his  was  one  of  those  lives 
which  are  lost  to  themselves  that  they  may  spring  up 
in  others.  He  came  both  in  grandeur  and  in  beauty, 
like  a  summer  storm,  which,  falling  in  rain,  is  lost  in 
the  soil,  and  reappears  neither  as  vapor  nor  cloud,  but 
transfused  into  flowers  and  fruits. 

One  particular  prophet  was  singled  out  by  our  Lord 
as  John's  prototype,  and  that  one  by  far  the  most  dra- 
matic of  all  the  venerable  brotherhood.  "  If  ye  will 
receive  it,  this  is  Elias,  which  was  for  to  come " 
(Matt.  xi.  14),  —  Elijah,  called  in  the  Septuagint  ver- 
sion Elias.  Malachi,  whose  words  close  the  canon  of 
the  Jewish  Scriptures,  had  declared,  "Behold,  I  will 
send  you  Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  coming  of 
the  great  and  dreadfid  day  of  the  Lord."  There  was, 
therefore,  a  universal  expectation  among  the  Jews  that 
the  Messiah    should  be  preceded  by  Elijah.^     It  was 

^  Stanley  says  of  this  prophet:  —  "  lie  stood  alone  against  Jezebel.  He 
stands  alone  in  many  senses  among  the  prophets.  Nursed  in  the  bosom  of 
Israel,  the  prophetical  portion,  if  one  may  so  say,  of  the  chosen  people,  vin- 
dicating the  true  religion  from  the  nearest  danger  of  overthrow,  setting  at 
defiance  by  invisible  power  the  whole  forces  of  the  Israelite  kingdom,  he 
reached  a  height  equal  to  that  of  Moses  and  Samuel  in  the  traditions  of  his 
country. 

"  lie  was  the  prophet  for  whose  return  in  later  years  his  countrymen  have 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE    WILDERNESS.  93 

an  expectation  not  confined  to  the  Jews,  but  shared 
by  the  outlying  tribes  and  nations  around  Palestine. 
There  is  no  real  interior  resemblance   between  John 
and  Elijah.     Their  times  were  not  alike.     There   are 
not  elsewhere  in  recorded  history  such  dramatic  ele- 
ments as   in  the   career  of  Elijah.     Irregular,  almost 
fitful,  Elijah  the  Tishbite  seemed  at  times  clean  gone 
forever,  dried  up  like  a  summer's  brook.     Then  sud- 
denly, like  that  stream  after  a  storm  on  the  hills,  he 
came    down  with    a   flood.      His   sudden  appearances 
and  as  sudden  vanishings  were  perfectly  natural  to  one 
who  had  been  reared,  as  he  had  been,  among  a  nomadic 
people,  not  unlike  the  Bedouin  Arabs.     But  to  us  they 
seem  more  like   the  mystery  of  spiritual  apparitions. 
When  the  whole  kingdom  and  the  regions  round  about 
were   searched   for  him   in  vain  hy  the    inquisitorial 
Jezebel,  then,  without  warning,  he  ajopeared  before  the 
court,  overawed  its  power,  and  carried  away  the  peo- 
ple by  an  irresistible  fascination.      Almost  alone,  and 
mourning  over  his  solitariness,  he  buffeted  the    idola- 
trous government  for  long  and  weary  years  of  discour- 
agement.     His  end  was  as   wonderful  as  his  career. 
Caught  up  in  a  mighty  tempest,  he  disappeared  from 

looked  with  most  eager  hope.  The  last  prophet  of  the  old  dispensation 
clung  to  this  consolation  in  the  decline  of  the  state. 

"  In  the  gospel  history  we  find  this  expectation  constantly  excited  in  each 
successive  appearance  of  a  new  prophet.  It  was  a  fixed  belief  of  the  Jews 
that  he  had  appeared  again  and  again,  as  an  Arabian  merchant,  to  wise 
and  good  rabbis  at  their  prayers  or  on  their  journeys.  A  seat  is  still  placed 
for  him  to  superintend  the  circumcision  of  the  Jewish  children. 

"  Passover  after  Passover,  the  Jews  of  our  own  day  place  the  paschal 
cup  on  the  table  and  set  the  door  wide  open,  believing  that  this  is  the  mo- 
ment when  Elijah  will  reappear. 

"  When  goods  are  found  and  no  owner  comes,  when  difficulties  arise  and 
no  solution  appears,  the  answer  is, '  Put  them  by  till  Elijah  comes.' "  —  Stan- 
ley, History  of  the  Jewish  Church,  Part  II.  p.  290. 


94  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

the  earth,  to  be  seen  no  more,  until,  in  the  exquisite 
vision  of  the  Transfiguration,  his  heavenly  spirit  blos- 
somed into  light,  and  hung  above  the  glowing  Saviour 
and  the  terrified  disciples. 

"  This  is  Elias,  which  was  for  to  come."  John 
from  his  childhood  had  been  reared  in  the  rugged  re- 
gion west  of  the  Dead  Sea,  southeast  from  Jerusalem 
and  Bethlehem.  (Luke  i.  80.)  His  raiment  was  a 
cloth  of  camel's  hair,  probably  a  long  robe  fjistened 
round  the  waist  with  a  leathern  girdle.  Whether  he 
lived  more  as  a  hermit  or  as  a  shepherd,  we  cannot 
tell.  It  is  probable  that  he  was  each  by  turns.  In  a 
manner  which  is  peculiarly  congenial  to  the  Oriental 
imagination,  he  fed  his  moral  nature  in  solitude,  and 
by  meditation  gained  that  education  which  with  West- 
ern races  comes  by  the  activities  of  a  benevolent  life. 

He  probably  surpassed  his  great  prototype  in  native 
power  and  in  the  importance  of  his  special  mission,  but 
fell  below  him  in  duration  of  action  and  dramatic  effect. 
Elijah  and  John  were  alike  unconventional,  each  hav- 
ing a  strong  though  rude  individualism.  Living  in  the 
wilderness,  fed  by  the  thoughts  and  imaginations  which 
great  natures  find  in  solitude,  their  characters  had 
woven  into  them  not  one  of  those  soft  and  silvery 
threads  which  fly  back  and  forth  incessantly  from  the 
shuttle  of  civilized  life.  They  l^egan  their  ministry 
without  entanglements.  They  had  no  3'oke  to  break, 
no  harness  to  cast  off,  no  customs  to  renounce.  They 
came  io  society,  not  from  it. 

Each  of  them,  single-handed,  attacked  the  bad  morals 
of  society  and  the  selfish  conduct  of  men.  Though  of 
a  priestly  family,  John  did  not  represent  the  Temple 
or  its  schools.     He  came  in  the  name  of  no  Jewish 


THE  VOICE  IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  95 

sect  or  party.  He  was  simply  "the  voice  of  One  cry- 
ing in  the  wilderness." 

John  was  Christ's  forerunner,  as  the  ploughman  goes 
before  the  sower.  Before  good  work  can  be  expected, 
there  must  be  excitement.  The  turf-bound  surface 
of  communities  must  be  torn  up,  the  compacted  soil 
turned  to  the  air  and  light.  Upon  the  rough  furrows, 
and  not  on  the  shorn  lawn,  is  there  hope  for  the  seed. 

This  great  work  of  arousing  the  nation  befitted 
John.  His  spirit  was  of  the  Law.  He  had,  doubtless, 
like  his  ancient  brethren  of  the  prophet  brood,  his 
mysterious  struggles  with  the  infinite  and  the  un- 
known. He  had  felt  the  sovereignty  of  conscience. 
Right  and  wrong  rose  before  his  imagination,  amidst 
the  amenities  of  an  indulgent  life,  like  Ebal  and  Geri- 
zim  above  the  vale  of  Samaria.  In  his  very  prime,  and 
full  of  impetuous  manhood,  he  came  forth  from  the 
wilderness,  and  began  his  career  by  the  most  direct 
and  unsparing  appeals  to  the  moral  sense  of  the  people. 
There  was  no  sensuous  mysticism,  no  subtile  philosophy, 
no  poetic  enchantment,  no  tide  of  pleasurable  emotion. 
He  assailed  human  conduct  in  downright  earnest.  He 
struck  right  home  at  the  unsheltered  sins  of  guilty 
men,  as  the  axe-man  strikes.  Indeed,  the  axe  should 
be  the  sign  and  symbol  of  John.^  There  are  moods 
in  men  that  invite  such  moral  aorgression  as  his. 
When  a  large  and  magnetic  nature  appears,  with 
power  to  grasp  men,  the  moral  feeling  becomes  elec- 
tric and  contagious.  Whole  communities  are  fired. 
They  rise  up  against  their  sins  and  self-indulgent  hab- 

*  "  Anfl  now  <i1po  the  axe  is  laid  unto  the  root  of  the  trees :  therefora 
every  tree  wliich  lirinjreth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and  cast  into 
the  fire."     (Matt.  iii.  10.) 


96  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CURIST. 

its,  they  lecid  them  forth  to  sLaughter,  as  the  minions 
of  Baal  were  led  by  Elijah  at  Mount  Carmel.  Not  the 
grandest  commotions  of  nature,  not  the  coming  on  of 
spring,  nor  the  sound  of  summer  storms,  is  more  sub- 
lime than  are  these  moral  whirls,  to  which,  especially 
in  their  grander  but  less  useful  forms,  rude  men,  in 
morally  neglected  communities,  are  powerfully  ad- 
dicted. 

The  wilderness  of  Judsea,  where  John  began  his 
preaching,  reaches  on  its  northern  flank  to  the  river 
Jordan.  From  this  point  he  seems  to  have  made  brief 
circuits  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  valley.  "  He  came 
into  all  the  country  about  Jordan."  (Luke  iii.  3.) 
But,  as  his  fame  spread,  he  was  saved  the  labor  of 
travel.  "  There  went  out  unto  him  all  the  land  of 
Judaea"  (Mark  i.  5),  —  city,  town,  and  country.  The 
population  of  this  region  was  very  dense.  It  was 
largely  a  Jewish  population,  and  therefore  mercurial 
in  feeling,  but  tenacious  of  purpose;  easily  aroused, 
but  hard  to  change  ;  not  willing  to  alter  its  course, 
but  glad  to  be  kindled  and  accelerated  in  any  direc- 
tion already  begun.  An  Oriental  nation  is  peculiarly 
accessible  to  excitement,  and  the  Jews  above  all  Ori- 
entals were  open  to  its  influence.  Fanaticism  lay 
dormant  in  every  heart.  Every  Jew  was  like  a  grain 
of  powder,  harmless  and  small  until  touched  by  the 
spark,  and  then  instantly  swelling  with  irresistible 
and  immeasurable  force.  Just  at  this  time,  too,  the 
very  air  of  Judaaa  was  full  of  feverish  expectation. 
Its  people  were  sick  of  foreign  rule.  Their  pride 
was  wounded,  but  not  weakened,  or  even  humbled. 

The  Jews  Avere  the  children  of  the  prophets.  That 
one  Voice  crying  in  the  wilderness  touched  the  deep 


THE    VOICE  IN  TEE    WILDERNESS.  97 

religious  romance  of  ever}^  patriotic  heart.  It  was 
like  the  olden  time.  So  had  the  great  prophets 
done.  Even  one  of  less  greatness  than  John  would 
have  had  a  tumultuous  reception.  But  John  was 
profoundly  in  earnest.  It  was  his  good  fortune  to 
have  no  restraints  or  commitments.  He  had  no  phi- 
losophy to  shape  or  balance,  no  sect  whose  tenets  he 
must  respect,  no  reputation  to  guard,  and  no  deluding 
vanity  of  an  influence  to  be  either  w^on  or  kept.  He 
listened  to  the  voice  of  God  in  his  own  soul,  and 
spake  right  on.  When  such  a  one  speaks,  the  hearts 
of  men  are  targets,  his  words  are  arrows,  and  multi- 
tudes will  fall  down  wounded. 

And  yet  no  one  in  the  full  blessedness  of  Chris- 
tian experience  can  look  upon  the  preaching  of  John 
without  sadness.  It  was  secular,  not  spiritual.  There 
was  no  future,  no  great  spirit-land,  no  heaven  above 
his  world.  The  Jewish  hills  were  his  horizon.  It  is 
true  that  he  saw  above  these  hills  a  hazy  light ;  but 
what  that  light  would  reveal  he  knew  not.  How 
should  he  ?  To  him  it  seemed  that  the  Messiah  would 
be  only  another  John,  but  grander,  more  thorough, 
and  wholly  irresistible.  "  But  he  that  cometh  after 
me  is  mightier  than  I."  What  would  this  mightier 
than  John  be  ?  What  would  he  do  ?  Only  this  :  "  He 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire : 
whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will  thoroughly  purge 
his  floor,  and  will  gather  the  wheat  into  his  gar- 
ner ;  but  the  chaff  he  will  burn  with  fire  unquench- 
able." 

All  this  was  true  ;  but  that  does  not  describe  the 
Christ.  John  saw  him  as  one  sees  a  tree  in  winter, 
—  the  bare  branches,  without  leaves,  flowers,  or  fruit. 


98  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

What  would  he  have  thought,  if  he  had  heard  the 
first  sermon  of  Jesus  at  Nazareth, —  "  He  hath  sent  me 
to  heal  the  broken-hearted,  to  preach  deliverance  to 
the  captives,  and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  to 
set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised "  ?  No  wonder 
Jesus  said  of  him  that  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  should  be  greater  than  he !  John  would  have 
said.  Purity  and  then  divine  favor;  Christ,  Divine 
favor  that  ye  may  become  pure. 

This  great  Soul  of  the  Wilderness  was  sent  to  do 
a  preparatory  work,  and  to  introduce  the  true  Teacher. 
Though  he  represented  the  Law,  that  Law  had  not 
in  his  hands,  as  it  had  in  the  handling  of  the  priests, 
lost  all  compassion.  There  is  a  bold  discrimination  in 
the  Baptist's  conduct  toward  the  ignorant  common 
people  and  the  enlightened  Pharisee.  "  What  shall  we 
do?''  is  the  question  of  a  heart  sincerely  in  earnest; 
and  this  question  brought  John  to  each  man's  side  like 
a  brother. 

Knowing  that  to  repent  of  particular  sins  was  an 
education  toward  a  hatred  of  the  principle  of  evil, — 
sins  being  the  drops  which  flow  from  the  fountain  of 
sin,  —  he  obliged  the  tax-gatherer  to  repent  of  a  tax- 
gatherer's  sins,  —  extortion  and  avarice.  The  soldier 
must  abandon  his  peculiar  sins,  —  violence,  rapine, 
greed  of  booty,  revengeful  accusations  against  all 
who  resisted  his  predatory  habits.  Selfish  men,  liv- 
ing together,  prey  on  one  another  by  the  endless 
ways  of  petty  selfishness.  John  struck  at  the  root 
of  this  universal  self-indulgence  when  he  commanded 
the  common  people,  "  He  that  hath  two  coats,  let  him 
impart  to  him  that  hath  none ;  and  he  that  hath  meat, 
let   him   do   likewise."     It   is    probable   that   he  had 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE    WILDERNESS.  99 

seen  right  before  him  hungry  and  shivering  men  by 
the  side  of  the  over  full  and  luxuriously  clothed. 

There  were  others  in  the  crowd  besides  publicans 
and  sinners.  There  were  saints  there,  —  at  least 
the  Pharisees  thought  so.  They  looked  upon  others 
with  sympathy,  and  were  glad  that  the  common  peo- 
ple repented.  Although  they  themselves  needed  no 
amendment,  it  yet  could  do  no  harm  to  be  baptized, 
and  their  pious  example  might  encourage  those  who 
needed  it !  This  John  was  doing  good.  They  were 
disposed  to  patronize  him  ! 

If  this  w\as  the  spirit  which  John  perceived,  no 
wonder  he  Hashed  out  upon  them  with  such  light- 
ning strokes.  "  0  generation  of  vipers,  who  hath 
warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  ?  Bring 
forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance."  These  dazzling 
words  did  not  altogether  offend,  for  the  Pharisees 
were  sure  that  John  did  not  quite  understand  that 
they  were  the  choicest  and  most  modern  instances 
of  what  the  old  saints  had  been !  Looking  around 
on  the.  sun-bleached  gravel  and  mossless  stones,  John 
replied  to  their  thoughts  :  "  Think  not  to  say  within 
yourselves,  We  have  Abraham  to  our  father;  for  I 
say  unto  you,  that  God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise 
up  children  unto  Abraham." 

The  preaching  of  John  is  plain.  But  what  was 
the  meaning  of  his  baptism  ?  Was  it  into  the  Jew- 
ish church  that  he  baptized  ?  But  the  people  were 
already  members  of  that  church.  It  was  a  national 
church,  and  men  Avere  born  into  it  without  any  fur- 
ther trouble.  Was  it  an  initiation  into  a  new  sect  ? 
John  did  not  organize  a  sect  or  a  party.  He  ex- 
plicitly declared  his  office  to  be  transitory,  his  func- 


100  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

tion  to  prepare  men  for  the  great  Coming  Man. 
Was  it  Christian  baptism  ?  Christ  was  not  yet  de- 
clared.    The  formula  was  not  Christian. 

If  that  inevitable  husk,  an  outward  organization, 
had  not  become  so  fixed  in  men's  minds,  John's  o^vn 
explanation  would  suffice.  It  is  clear  and  explicit: 
"  I  baptize  you  with  water  unto  repentance."  It  was 
a  symbolic  act,  signifying  that  one  had  risen  to  a 
hiMier  moral  condition.  It  was  an  act  of  transition. 
It  was  a  moral  act,  quite  important  enough  to  stand 
by  itself,  without  serving  any  secondary  purpose  of 
initiation  into  any  church  or  sect.  Neither  John  nor 
afterwards  Jesus  gave  to  the  act  any  ecclesiastical 
meaning.  It  had  only  a  moral  significance.  It  was 
an  act  neither  of  association  nor  of  initiation.  It  was 
purely  personal,  beginning  and  ending  with  the  individ- 
ual subject  of  it.  It  conferred,  and  professed  to  confer, 
nothing.  It  was  declaratory  of  moral  transition.  Bap- 
tism is  that  symbolic  act  by  which  a  man  declares, 
"  I  forsake  my  sins,  and  rise  to  a  better  life." 

A  study  of  the  fragments  of  John's  discourses  enables 
us  to  understand  the  relation  of  their  subject-matter 
to  the  spiritual  truths  which  Christ  unfolded.  Ho 
dwelt  in  the  truth  of  the  old  dispensation.  He  saw 
the  twilight  of  the  coming  day,  but  did  not  compre- 
hend it.  He  called  men  to  repentance,  but  it  was 
repentance  of  sin  as  measured  by  the  old  canons  of 
morality.  He  called  men  to  reformation,  but  not  to 
regeneration.  He  summoned  men  back  to  the  highest 
conception  of  rectitude  then  known  ;  but  he  did  not, 
as  Christ  did,  raise  morality  into  the  realm  of  spiritu- 
ality, and  hold  forth  a  new  ideal  of  character,  incom- 
parably higher  than  any  before  taught.     If  the  very 


THE    VOICE  IN  THE    WILDERNESS.  IQl 

Reformer  himself,  in  the  estimation  of  Jesus,  was  less 
than  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  how  much 
lower  must  his  rude  disciples  have  been  than  the  "  new 
man  in  Christ  Jesus  "  ! 

Ideals  are  the  true  germs  of  growth.  No  benefactor 
is  like  him  who  fills  life  with  new  and  fruitful  ideals. 
Christ  gave  to  every  duty  a  new  motive.  Every  vir- 
tue had  an  aspiration  for  something  yet  nobler.  He 
carried  forward  the  bounds  of  life,  and  assured  immor- 
tality to  the  world  as  a  new  horizon.  He  blew  away 
the  mists  of  the  schools,  and  the  nature  of  God  shone 
out  with  redoubled  radiance.  He  was  the  God  of  the 
Jews,  because  he  was  the  God  of  the  whole  earth.  He 
was  King,  because  he  was  Father.  He  was  Sover- 
eign, because  love  reigns  throughout  the  universe. 
He  suffered,  and  thenceforth  altars  were  extinguished. 
He  died,  and  Sinai  became  Calvary.  Where  he  lay, 
there  was  a  garden ;  and  flowers  and  fragrant  clusters 
were  the  fit  symbols  of  the  new  era. 

The  true  place  of  John's  preaching  cannot  be  so  well 
fixed  as  by  this  contrast.  But  John  answered  the  end 
for  which  he  came.  He  had  aroused  the  attention  of 
the  nation.  He  had  stimulated,  even  if  he  had  not 
enlightened,  the  public  conscience ;  and,  above  all,  he 
had  excited  an  eager  expectation  of  some  great  na- 
tional deliverance. 

The  Jew  had  deep  moral  feeling,  but  little  spirit- 
uality. His  moral  sense  was  strong,  but  narrow, 
national,  and  selfish.  Tenacious  of  purpose,  elastic  and 
tough,  courageous  even  to  fanaticism,  heroic  in  suffer- 
ing, the  one  element  needed  to  a  grand  national  char- 
acter Avas  love.  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  friends  and 
hate  thine  enemies,"  gave  ample  scope  to  his  nature ; 


102  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,    THE   CHRIST. 

for  liis  friends  were  few,  and  liis  enemies  nearly  the 
whole  civilized  world.  The  Hebrews  looked  for  a 
Messiah,  and  he  was  already  among  them.  Love  was 
his  nature,  love  his  mission,  and  his  name  might 
have  been  called  Love.  How  should  he  be  known 
by  a  nation  avIio  were  practised  in  every  inflection  of 
hatred,  but  who  had  never  learned  the  spiritual  quality 
of  love  ? 

Restless  as  was  the  nation,  and  long-ino;  for  divine 
intervention,  every  portent  was  quickly  noticed.  Fierce 
factions,  and  from  a  lower  plane  the  turbulent  peo- 
ple, watched  his  coming.  The  wretched  multitude,  a 
prey  by  turns  to  foreigners  and  to  their  own  country- 
men, had,  with  all  the  rest,  a  vague  and  superstitious 
faith  of  the  coming  Messiah.  Holy  men  like  Simeon, 
and  devout  priests  like  Zacharias,  there  were,  amidst 
this  seething  people,  who,  brooding,  longing,  waiting, 
chanted  to  themselves  day  by  day  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist,  "My  soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord  more  than 
they  that  watch  for  the  morning."  (Ps.  cxxx.  6.)  As 
lovers  that  watch  for  the  appointed  coming,  and  start 
at  the  quivering  of  a  leaf,  the  flight  of  a  bird,  or  the 
humming  of  a  bee,  and  grow  weary  of  the  tense 
strain,  so  did  the  Jews  watch  for  their  Deliverer.  It 
is  one  of  the  most  piteous  sights  of  history,  especially 
when  wc  reflect  that  he  came,  —  and  they  knew  him 
not! 

This  growing  excitement  in  all  the  region  around 
the  Jordan  sent  its  fiery  wave  to  Jerusalem.  The 
Temple,  with  its  keen  priestly  watchers,  heard  that 
voice  in  the  wilderness,  repeating  day  by  day,  with 
awful  emphasis,  "Prepare,  prepare!  the  Lord  is  at 
hand  ! "     With  all  the  airs  of  arrogant  authority  came 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  103 

down  from  the  Sanhedrim  priestly  questioners.  It  is 
an  early  instance  of  the  examination  of  a  young  man 
for  license  to  preach. 

"Who  art  thou?" 

"  I  am  not  the  Christ." 

"  What  then,  art  thou  EHas  ?" 

"  I  am  not." 

"Art  thou  that  prophet?" 

«  No." 

"  Who  art  thou,  that  we  may  give  an  answer  to  them 
that  sent  us  ?     What  sayest  thou  of  thyself  ?  " 

"I  am  the  Voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord,  as  said  the  prophet 
Esaias." 

"  Why  baptizest  thou  then,  if  thou  be  not  that 
Christ,  nor  Elias,  neither  that  prophet?" 

"  I  baptize  with  water.  But  there  standeth  One 
AJMONG  YOU  whom  ye  know  not.  He  it  is,  that,  coming 
after  me,  is  preferred  before  me,  whose  shoe's  latchet 
I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  effect  of  John's  replies 
upon  the  council  at  Jerusalem.  It  was  simply  a  de- 
nial of  their  authority.  It  was  an  appeal  from  Ritual 
to  Conscience.  He  came  home  to  men  with  direct 
and  personal  appeal,  and  refused  the  old  forms  and 
sacred  channels  of  instruction;  and  when  asked  by 
the  proper  authorities  for  his  credentials,  he  gave  his 
name,  A  Voice  in  the  Wilderness,  as  if  he  owed  no 
obligation  to  Jerusalem,  but  only  to  nature  and  to 
God. 

Already,  then,  their  Messiah  was  mingling  in  the 
throng.  He  was  looking  upon  men,  and  upon  John, 
but  was  not  recognized.     What  his  thoughts  were  at 


104  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,    THE   CHRIST. 

the  scenes  about  him,  every  one's  own  imagination 
must  reveal. 

On  the  clay  following  the  visit  of  this  committee  from 
Jerusalem,  as  John  was  baptizing,  there  came  to  him 
one  Jesus  from  Nazareth,  and  asked  to  be  baptized. 
John  had  been  forewarned  of  the  significant  sign  by 
which  he  should  recognize  the  Messiah  :  "  He  that  sent 
me  to  baptize  with  water,  the  same  said  unto  me.  Upon 
whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending,  and  remain- 
ing on  him,  the  same  is  he  who  baptizeth  with  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Although  that  signal  had  not  been 
given,  yet  he  recognized  Jesus.  Whether,  being  cou- 
sins, they  had  ever  met,  we  know  not.  It  is  evident 
that  they  were  in  sympathy,  each  having  fully  heard 
of  the  other.  Perhaps  they  had  met  year  by  year  in 
the  feasts  of  Jerusalem,  to  which  we  know  that  Christ 
went  up,  and  at  which  John,  as  a  man  of  the  old  dis- 
pensation and  a  thorough  Jew,  heart  and  soul,  was 
even  more  likely  to  have  been  present. 

How  fierce  had  been  the  reply  of  the  Baptist  when 
the  Pharisees  asked  to  be  baptized  !  How  gentle  was 
his  bearing  to  Jesus,  and  how  humble  his  expostula- 
tion, "  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee,  and  comest 
thou  to  me  ?" 

His  heart  recognized  the  Christ,  even  before  the  de- 
scent of  the  Spirit. 

Equally  beautiful  is  the  reply  of  Jesus.  He  had  not 
yet  been  made  known  by  the  brooding  Spirit.  He  had 
neither  passed  his  probation,  nor  received  that  enlarged 
liberty  of  soul  which  Avas  to  be  to  him  the  signal  for  his 
peculiar  ministry.  He  was  simply  a  citizen  of  the  com- 
monwealth of  Israel,  under  the  Law,  and  he  was  walk- 
ing in  the  footsteps  of  his  people,  "  that  in  all  things 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE    WILDERNESS.  105 

he  might  he  m<ade  like  unto  his  brethren "  "  of  the 
seed  of  Abraham." 

They  went  down  together,  the  son  of  Elizabeth  and 
the  son  of  Mary,  John  and  Jesus,  into  the  old  river 
Jordan,  that  neither  hastened  nor  slackened  its  current 
at  their  coming ;  for  the  Messianic  sign  was  not  to  be 
from  the  waters  beneath,  but  from  the  heavens  above. 

Hitherto  the  Jordan  had  been  sacred  to  the  patriotic 
Jew  from  its  intimate  connection  with  many  of  the 
most  remarkable  events  in  the  history  of  the  common- 
wealth and  of  the  kingdom.  Another  Jesus ^  had  once 
conveyed  the  people  from  their  wanderings  across  this 
river  dry  shod.  The  Jordan  had  separated  David 
and  his  pursuers  when  the  king  fled  from  his  usurping 
son.  Elijah  smote  it  to  let  him  and  Elisha  go  over, 
and  erelong  Elisha  returned  alone.  The  Jordan  was 
a  long  silvery  thread,  on  which  were  strung  national 
memories  through  many  hundred  years.  But  all  these 
histories  were  outshone  by  the  new  occurrence.  In  all 
Christendom  to-day  the  Jordan  means  Christ's  bap- 
tism. Profoundly  significant  as  was  this  event,  the 
first  outward  step  by  which  Jesus  entered  upon  his  min- 
istry, it  was  followed  by  another  still  more  striking 
and  far  more  important.  Jesus  ascended  from  the  Jor- 
dan looking  up  and  praying.  (Luke  iii.  21.)  As  he 
gazed,  the  sky  was  cleft  open,  and  a  beam  of  light 
flashed  forth,  and,  alighting  upon  him,  seemed  in 
bodily  shape  like  a  dove.  Instantly  a  voice  spake 
from  out  of  heaven,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  I  am  well  pleased."     (Matt.  iii.  17.) 

*  In  the  Hebrew  the  name  Saviour  appears  under  the  different  forms 
HosiiEA  (^OsJiea),  Jeuosuua  (^Joshua),  later  Hebrew  Jksuua  (Greek 
Jesus). 


106  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   TEE   CHRIST. 

We  know  not  what  opening  of  soul  came  from  this 
divine  light.  We  know  not  what  cords  were  loosed 
and  what  long-bound  attributes  unfolded,  —  as  buds 
held  by  winter  unroll  in  the  spring.  But  from  this 
moment  Jesus  became  The  Cueist  !  He  relinquished 
his  home  and  ordinary  labors.  He  assumed  an  au- 
thority never  before  manifested,  and  moved  with  a 
dignity  never  afterward  laid  aside.  We  cannot,  by 
analysis  or  analogy,  discern  and  set  forth  the  change 
wrought  within  him  by  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
But  those  who  look  with  doubt  upon  the  reality  of 
any  great  exaltation  of  soul  divinely  inspired  may  do 
well  to  see  Avhat  often  befolls  men. 

It  is  a  familiar  fact,  that  men,  at  certain  periods  of 
their  lives,  experience  changes  which  are  like  an- 
other birth.  The  new  life,  when  the  passion,  and,  still 
more  significantly,  when  the  sentiment,  of  love  takes 
full  possession  of  the  soul,  is  familiar.  Great  men 
date  their  birth  from  the  hour  of  some,  great  inspi- 
ration. Even  from  human  sources,  from  individual 
men,  and  from  society,  electric  influences  dart  out 
upon  susceptible  natures,  which  change  their  future 
history.  How  much  more  powerful  should  this  be 
if  there  is  a  Divine  Spirit !  If  secular  influence  has 
transforming  power,  how  much  more  divine  influence ! 

The  universal  belief  of  the  Church,  that  men  are  the 
subjects  of  sudden  and  transforming  divine  influences, 
is  borne  out  by  facts  without  number.  The  most 
extraordinary  and  interesting  phenomena  in  mental 
history  are  those  which  appear  in  religious  conver- 
sions. Men  are  overwhelmed  with  influences  to  which 
they  were  before  strangers.  Without  changing  the 
natural  constitution  of  the  mind,  the  balance  of  power 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE    WILDERNESS.  107 

is  SO  shifted  that  dominant  animal  passions  go  under 
the  yoke,  and  dormant  moral  sentiments  spring  up 
with  amazing  energy.  With  such  sudden  transfor- 
mations within,  there  follows  a  total  outward  revo- 
lution of  manners,  morals,  actions,  and  aims.  Per- 
haps the  most  dramatic  instance  is  Paul's.  But 
inward  changes,  without  the  external  brilliancy,  have 
been  made  in  thousands  of  men  and  of  women,  full 
as  thorough  and  transforming  as  that  of  the  great 
Apostle.  Indeed,  such  changes  are  no  longer  rare 
or  remarkable.  They  are  common  and  familiar.  And 
even  though  we  should  join  those  who,  admitting 
the  change,  account  for  it  upon  the  lowest  theory 
of  natural  principles,  the  main  thing  which  we  have 
in  view  would  still  be  gained ;  namely,  to  show  that 
the  human  soul  is  so  organized  that,  when  brought 
under  certain  influences,  it  is  susceptible  of  sudden 
and  complete  transformation. 

If  it  is  thus  impressible  at  the  hands  of  secular  in- 
fluence, how  much  more  if  there  be  admitted  a  divine 
energy,  as  it  were  an  atmosphere  of  divine  will,  in 
which  all  material  worlds  float,  and  out  of  which  physi- 
cal laws  themselves  flow,  as  rills  and  rivers  from  an 
inexhaustible  reservoir ! 

But  the  soul  upon  which  the  Spirit  descended  over 
the  Jordan  was  divine.  It  was  a  divine  nature, 
around  which  had  been  bound  cords  of  restraint,  now 
greatly  loosened,  or  even  snapped,  by  the  sacred  flame ; 
with  attributes  repressed,  self-infolded,  but  which  now, 
at  the  celestial  touch,  were  roused  to  something  of 
their  pristine  sweep  and  power. 

All  before  this  has  been  a  j)eriod  of  waiting.  Upon 
his  ascent  from  the  Jordan,  Jesus  the  Christ,  indued 


108  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

with  power  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  steps  into  a  new  sphere. 
He  is  now  to  appear  before  his  people  as  a  divine 
teacher,  to  authenticate  his  high  claims  by  acts  so  far 
above  human  power  that  they  shall  evince  the  Divine 
presence ;  and,  finally,  to  be  offered  up,  through  suf- 
ferinfj-  unto  death,  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  —  the  one 
victim  which  shall  forever  supersede  all  other  sacri- 
fices. Here,  then,  upon  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  be- 
gins the  new  dispensation. 

There  is  a  remarkable  symmetry  of  mystery  about 
John.  He  had  all  his  life  lived  apart  from  society, 
unknowing  and  unknown.  Standing  by  the  side  of 
the  Jordan,  he  made  himself  felt  in  all  Judasa  and 
throughout  Galilee.  The  wise  men  of  his  time  sought 
in  vain  to  take  his  measure.  Like  all  men  who  seek 
to  reduce  moral  truth  to  exact  forms  and  propor- 
tions, the  Pharisees  had  their  gauge  and  mould,  and 
John  would  not  fit  to  any  of  them.  If  he  was  not 
Messiah,  or  Elias,  or  that  prophet,  he  might  as  well 
have  been  nobody.  They  could  not  understand  him ; 
and  when  he  described  himself  as  a  voice  to  men's 
consciences  from  the  wilderness,  it  must  have  seemed 
to  his  questioners  either  insanity  or  mockery. 

We  are  better  informed  of  his  true  nature  and  pur- 
poses ;  yet  how  little  of  his  disposition,  of  his  personal 
appearance  and  habits,  the  style  of  his  discourse,  his 
struggles  with  himself,  his  alternations  of  hope  and 
fear,  do  we  know !  Looking  back  for  the  man  who 
moved  the  whole  of  Palestine,  we  can  say  only  that 
he  Avas  the  Voice  from  the  wilderness.  Though  the 
history  of  our  Lord  will  require  some  further  notice 
of  John  by  and  by,  yet  Ave  may  here  appropriately 
finish  what  little  remains  of  his  personal  history. 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE    WILDERNESS.  ICQ 

He  continued  to  preach  and  to  baptize  for  some  time 
after  Christ  entered  upon  his  mission,  ascending  the 
Jordan  from  near  Jericho,  where  it  is  supposed  that  ho 
began  his  baptismal  career,  to  Bethany  (not  Bethabara), 
beyond  Jordan,  and  then,  still  higher,  to  ^non.  His 
whole  ministry  is  computed  to  have  been  something 
over  two  years.  Herod  Antipas  had  long  looked  with 
a  jealous  eye  upon  John's  influence.  No  man  who  could 
call  together  and  sway  such  multitudes  as  John  did 
would  be  looked  upon  with  favor  by  an  Oriental  despot. 
It  only  needed  one  act  of  fidelity  on  the  prophet's  part 
to  secure  his  arrest.  John  publicly  denounced  the 
wickedness  of  Herod,  and  particularly  his  indecent 
marriage  with  his  brother  Philip's  wife,  Herodias,  who 
eloped  from  Philip  to  marry  Herod  Antipas.  John 
was  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Machoarus,  which  stood 
on  the  perpendicular  cliffs  of  one  of  the  streams  emp- 
tying into  the  Dead  Sea  from  the  east,  and  not  far 
from  its  shores.  There  John  must  have  remained  in 
captivity  for  a  considerable  period  of  time.  It  was 
not  Herod's  intention  to  do  him  further  harm.  But 
Herodias  could  not  forgive  the  sting  of  his  public 
rebuke,  and  Avatched  for  his  destruction.  Not  loner, 
however,  had  she  to  wait.  By  her  voluptuous  dancing 
upon  a  state  occasion,  at  a  banquet,  the  daughter  of 
Herodias  won  from  the  king  the  boon  of  choosing  her 
own  reward.  Instructed  by  her  vindictive  mother, 
she  demanded  the  head  of  John.  With  a  passing 
regret,  the  promise  was  kept,  —  and  the  feast  went 
on.  John's  disciples  buried  his  body.  Thus  ended 
the  earthly  life  of  this  child  of  promise,  —  the  solitary 
hermit,  the  ardent  reformer,  the  last  prophet  of  the 
Old  Testament  line. 


110  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

It  was  upon  these  mountains  of  Moab,  or  in  their 
ravines,  that  Moses  was  buried.  Thus  the  first  great 
prophet  of  Israel  and  the  last  one  were  buried  near 
to  each  other,  outside  of  the  Promised  Land,  amidst 
those  dark  hills  beyond  Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea. 

There  is  a  striking  analogy,  also,  in  another  respect. 
Moses  came  only  to  the  border  of  the  Promised  Land, 
the  object  of  his  whole  life's  labor.  He  looked  to  the 
north,  to  the  west,  to  the  south,  over  the  whole  of 
it.  "  I  have  caused  thee  to  see  it  with  thine  eyes, 
but  thou  shalt  not  go  over  thither." 

John  had  gone  before  the  promised  Messiah,  to 
prepare  his  way,  and  to  bring  in  the  new  dispen- 
sation. But  he  himself  was  not  permitted  to  enter 
upon  it.  Out  of  his  prison  he."  sent  to  Jesus  an 
anxious  inquiry,  "Art  thou  he  that  should  come,  or 
look  we  for  another  ?  "  The  account  which  his  disci- 
ples brought  back  must  have  assured  his  lonely  heart 
that  the  Messiah  had  come.  His  spirit  beheld  the 
dawning  day  of  holiness,  and  was  dismissed. 

Until  this  day  no  one  knows  where  either  Moses  or 
John  was  buried.  They  were  alike  in  the  utter  hiding 
of  their  irravcs. 


O' 


\ye  have  already  spoken  of  the  nature  of  John's 
baptism.  The  question  arises.  Why  should  Jesus  be 
baptized?  His  reply  was,  "  Thus  it  hecometh  lis  to  fulfil 
all  righteousness"  But  baptism  was  not  a  part  of  the 
Jewish  service.  Even  if  proselytes  were  baptized 
into  the  Jewish  church,  there  is  no  evidence  that  a 
Jew  was  required  to  be  baptized  at  any  period  of  his 
life.  We  nre  not  to  confound  the  tmshings  of  the  Lc- 
vitical  law  with  baptisms,  which  were  totally  different. 


THE   VOICE  IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  \\\ 

It  certainly  could  not  be  a  baptism  of  repentance 
to  Jesus  in  the  same  sense  that  it  is  to  all  others. 
Very  many  solutions  have  been  given  of  this  per- 
plexing question.^ 

Every  man  who  has  been,  like  John,  successful  in 
arousing  men  from  evil  and  leading  them  toward  a 
higher  life,  has  noticed  that  repentance  always  takes 
on  at  first  the  form  of  turning  from  evil,  rather  than 
of  taking  hold  on  good.  To  part  Avith  sweet-hearted 
sins,  to  forsake  and  break  up  evil  habits,  especially 
habits  formed  upon  the  passions  and  appetites,  re- 
quires vehement  exertion.  As  this  is  ordinarily  the 
first  experience  in  repentance,  and  usually  the  most 
sudden  and  painful  one,  wdiile  righteousness  is  gradual 

^  INIeyer  gives  a  digest  of  the  various  opinions  which  have  been  hold  con- 
cerning Christ's  baptism:  —  "Jesus  did  not  come  to  be  baptized  from  a 
feeUng  of  personal  sinfulness  (Bruno  Bauer,  comp.  Strauss)  ;  nor  because, 
according  to  the  Levitical  law,  his  personal  connection  -with  an  impure 
people  rendered  him  impure  (Lange)  ;  nor  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that 
there  was  no  incompatibility  between  his  a-ap^  aadevfias  and  life  in  the 
Spirit  (Ilofniann,  Weissngung  und  Erfi'dlung,  Vol.  II.  p.  82)  ;  nor  because 
baptism  implied  a  declaration  of  being  subject  to  a  penalty  of  death 
(Ebrard)  ;  nor  in  order  to  elicit  the  Divine  declaration  that  he  was  the 
Messiah  (Paulus)  ;  nor  to  confirm  the  faith  of  his  followers,  insomuch  as  bap- 
tism was  a  symbol  of  the  regeneration  of  his  disciples  (Amnion  L.  J.,  Vol. 
I.  p.  2G8)  ;  nor  to  sanction  the  baptism  of  John  by  his  example  (Kuinoel, 
Kern);  nor  to  indicate  his  obligations  to  obey  the  law  (Hofmann,  Krabbe, 
Osiander)  ;  noi",  lastly,  because  before  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  he  acted  like 
any  other  ordinary  Israelite  (Hess,  Kuhn,  comp.  Olshausen). 

"  The  true  explanation  of  this  act,  as  furnished  in  verse  1 5,  is,  that  as  the 
Messiah  he  felt  that,  according  to  the  Divine  will,  he  had  to  submit  to  the 
baptism  of  his  forerunner,  in  order  to  receive  the  divine  declaration  of  his 
Messianic  dignity  (verses  10,  17). 

"  It  was  not  in  baptism  that  he  first  became  conscious  of  his  dignity  as  the 
Messiah,  as  if  by  that  act  he  had  been  inwardly  transformed  into  the  Mes- 
siah ;  the  expression  '  thus  it  becometh  us '  (verse  15)  implies  that  he  was 
conscious  of  being  the  Messiah,  and  of  the  relation  in  which,  as  such,  John 
stood  toward  him," —  Quoted  by  Lange,  on  Matthew,  Chapter  III. 


112  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CnRIST. 

both  in  fact  and  fruition,  so  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  popular  idea  of  repentance  should  be  ihe  fovsaldng 
of  evil  To  "  break  off  one's  sins  hf/  righteousness "  is 
a  later  knowledge.  And  yet  this  is  the  very  core 
and  marrow  of  repentance.  It  is  the  rising  from 
grossness  into  refinement,  from  selfishness  into  univer- 
sal good-will,  from  passion  to  sentiment,  —  in  short, 
from  the  flesh  into  the  spirit. 

Repentance,  in  its  last  analysis,  is  rising  from  a 
lower  life  into  a  higher  one,  and  to  a  holy  being 
this  would  be  the  side  first  seen  and  most  valued. 
To  the  eye  of  John,  the  multitude  who  were  bap- 
tized by  him,  "  confessing  their  sins,"  were  forsak- 
ing evil.  In  the  sight  of  Christ,  they  were  coming 
to  a  hio-her  and  better  life. 

Imagine,  then,  the  sympathy  of  Jesus  for  these 
things.  Whatever  would  carry  forward  the  work 
should  be  favored.  He,  too,  though  he  had  no  sins 
to  repent  of,  had  higher  attainments  to  make.  "  The 
Captain  of  our  salvation  was  made  perfect  through 
suffering."  Even  though,  in  his  full  and  original 
nature,  he  was  God,  yet  while  in  humiliation,  and 
robbed,  as  it  were,  of  the  full  disclosure  of  his  own 
attributes,  he  must  go  through  the  unfolding  process, 
and  rise  from  step  to  step  of  spiritual  experience. 

A  baptism  to  a  higher  life  would  probably  be  Christ's 
interpretation  of  John's  baptism  for  himself  And  ho 
submitted  to  it,  as  one  of  the  great  multitude.  "  It 
becometh  «5."  He  joined  the  movement;  he  added 
his  example  to  the  good  work  going  on.  Others 
repented,  —  or  turned  from  evil  to  good;  Jesus  only 
advanced  from  point  to  point  in  a  line  of  gracious 
development.     That  which   repentance  means,  in  its 


THE  VOICE  IN  THE   WILDERNESS.  113 

true  spirit,  namely,  the  rising  from  lower  to  higher 
moral  states,  Jesus  experienced  in  common  with  the 
multitude  ;  although  he  had  not,  like  them,  any  need 
of  the  stings  of  remorse  for  past  misconduct  to  drive 
him  upward.  Repentance  is  but  another  name  for 
aspiration. 


114  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE   TEMPTATION. 

^  At  every  step  the  disclosure  of  the  life  of  Jesus 
was  a  surprise.  He  came  into  the  world  as  no  man 
would  imagine  that  a  Divine  person  would  come. 
His  youth  was  spent  without  exhibitions  of  singular 
power.  His  entrance  upon  public  life  was  unosten- 
tatious. His  baptism,  to  all  but  John,  was  like  the 
baptism  of  any  one  of  the  thousands  that  thronged 
the  Jordan. 

Shall  he  now  shine  out  with  a  full  disclosure  of 

.  himself?  Shall  he  at  once  ascend  to  Jerusalem,  and 
in  the  greatness  of  his  Divinity  make  it  apparent  to 
all  men  that  he  is  indeed  the  very  Messiah  ? 
^  This  was  not  the  Divine  method.  It  was  not  by  a 
surprise  of  the  senses,  nor  by  exciting  mere  wonder 
among  unthinking  men,  that  Jesus  would  make  plain 
his  Divine  nature.  It  was  by  evolving  a  sweeter 
and  nobler  life  than  man  ever  does,  and  in  circum- 
stances even  more  adverse  than  fall  to  the  lot  of 
man,  that  his  nature  was  to  be  shown. 

»'  It  is  not  strange  to  us,  now  well  instructed  in  the 
spirit  of  Christ's  mission,  that  he  did  not  enter  at 
once  upon  his  work   of  teaching.     Midway  between 

\  his  private  life,  now  ended,  and  his  public  ministry, 
about  to  begin,  there  was  to  be  a  long  and  silent 
discipline.     The  three   narratives  of  the  Temptation, 


THE  TEMPTATION.  115 

by  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  lift  us  at  once  into 
the  region  of  mystery.  We  find  ourselves  beyond 
our  depth  at  the  first  step,  and  deep  follows  deep 
to  the  end.  The  mystery  of  that  Divine  Spirit  which 
possessed  the  Saviour,  the  mystery  of  forty  days' 
conflict  in  such  a  soul,  the  mystery  of  the  nature 
and  power  of  Satan,  the  mystery  of  the  three  final 
forms  into  which  the  Temptation  resolved  itself, — 
these  are  beyond  our  reach.  They  compass  and 
shroud  the  scene  with  a  kind  of  supernatural  gloom. 
The  best  solution  we  give  to  the  difficulties  will  cast 
but  a  twilight  upon  the  scene. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  many  that  the  Tempta- 
tion took  place  among  the  solitary  mountains  of  Moab, 
beyond  the  Jordan.  It  was  thither  that  Moses  re- 
sorted for  his  last  and  long-ins;  look  over  the  Prom- 
ised  Land;  and  it  would  certainly  give  us  a  poetic 
gratification  if  we  could  beheve  that  the  "  exceed- 
ing high "  mountain,  from  which  the  glory  of  the 
world  flashed  upon  the  Saviour's  view,  was  that  same 
summit  upon  which  his  type,  the  great  prophet  Moses, 
had  stood,  thus  singularly  making  the  same  peak 
behold  the  beginning  of  the  two  great  dispensations, 
that  of  the  Old  and  that  of  the  New  Testament. 
It  is  a  pleasant  fancy,  but  hardly  true  as  history. 
Westward  from  Jericho,  rising  in  places  with  steep 
cliffs  of  white  limestone  fifteen  hundred  feet  in  height, 
is  a  line  of  mountains,  whose  irregular  and  rugged 
tops  against  the  sky,  seen  from  the  plains  of  the 
Jordan,  present  a  noble  contrast  to  the  ordinary  mo- 
notony of  the  Judjean  hills.  One,  called  Quaranta- 
nia  from  its  supposed  relation  to  the  forty  days  of 
temptation,  has  been  pointed  out  by  tradition  as  the 


116  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,    THE   CHRIST. 

scene  of  the  Lord's  conflict.  It  rises  liigli,  is  pierced 
with  caves  and  gashed  Avith  ravines,  and  is  solitary 
and  wild  enough  to  have  been,  as  recorded  by  Mark, 
a  lair  of  wild  beasts,  as  it  continues  to  be  to  the 
present  day. 

Into  the  solitude  of  this  mountain  in  the  wilderness 
came  Jesus,  under  the  same  guidance  as  that  which 
convoyed  the  prophets  of  old.  Indeed,  we  must  dis- 
miss from  our  minds  modern  notions,  and  even  the  ideas 
which  ruled  in  the  time  of  Jesus,  and  go  back  to  the 
days  of  Samuel,  of  Elijah,  and  of  Ezekiel,  if  we  would 
get  any  clew  to  the  imagery  and  the  spirit  of  the 
extraordinary  transaction  which  we  are  about  to  con- 
sider. Had  this  scene  been  recorded  of  some  of  the 
prophets  hundreds  of  years  before,  it  would  have  har- 
monized admirably  with  the  narratives  which  relate 
the  old  prophetic  histories.  But  in  the  later  days 
of  Gospel  history  this  scene  of  temptation  is  like 
some  gigantic  boulder  drifted  out  of  its  place  and 
historic  relations,  and  out  of  sight  and  memory  of  the 
cliffs  to  which  in  kind  it  belonged.  It  is  in  perfect 
accord  with  the  elder  Hebrew  nature,  and  it  was  the 
last  and  greatest  of  that  sublime  series  of  prophetic 
tableaux,  through  which  Hebrew  genius  delivered  to 
the  world  its  imperishable  contributions  of  moral  truth. 

Like  the  seers  of  old,  Jesus  was  powerfully  excited 
by  the  descent  upon  him  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  There 
were  all  the  appearances  common  to  states  in  which 
there  is  a  partial  suspension  of  voluntary  action.  The 
language  of  the  Evangelists  is  significant.  Luke  says : 
"  And  Jesus,  being  full  of  the  Holij  Ghost,  returned  from 
Jordan,  and  was  led  by  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness" 
("  led  2«/>,"   says  Matthew).     But  Mark's  language  is 


THE   TEMPTATION.  \Yj 

more  strikingly  significant  of  the  prophetic  orgasm : 
"  And  immediately  the  Spirit  drivdh  him  into  the  wil- 
derness." This  is  the  language  of  the  prophet-parox- 
ysm. Seized  with  an  irresistible  impulse,  so  the  "  holy 
men  of  old  "  were  impelled  by  the  Spirit.  Thus  Eze- 
kiel  says  :  "  In  the  visions  of  God  brought  he  me  into 
the  land  of  Israel,  and  set  me  upon  a  very  high  moun- 
tain." (Ezek.  xl.  2.)  The  operation  of  the  Divine  in- 
spiration upon  the  mind  of  Ezekiel  throws  important 
light  upon  the  philosophy  of  this  opening  scene  of 
Christ's  ministry. 

We  believe  the  temptation  of  Christ  to  have  been 
an  actual  experience,  not  a  dream  or  a  parable,  in  Avhich 
his  soul,  illumined  and  exalted  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
was  brought  into  personal  conflict  with  Satan ;  and  the 
conflict  was  none  the  less  real  and  historic;  because 
the  method  involved  that  extraordinary  ecstasy  of 
the  prophet-mind.  Of  the  peculiarities  of  the  pro- 
phetic state  we  shall  speak  a  little  further  on. 

The  whole  life  of  Christ  stands  between  two  great 
spheres  of  temptation.  The  forty  days  of  the  wilder- 
ness and  the  midnight  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane 
are  as  two  great  cloud-gates,  of  entrance  to  his  min- 
istry and  of  exit  from  it.  In  both  scenes,  silence  is 
the  predominant  quality. 

The  first  stage  of  the  Temptation  includes  the  forty 
days  of  fasting.  This  may  be  said  to  have  been  the 
private  struggle  and  personal  probation. 

The  forty  days  w^ere  not  for  human  eyes.  If  the 
history  of  these  experiences  was  ever  spoken,  even  to 
the  ear  of  John,  the  most  receptive  of  the  disciples,  it 
was  not  designed  for  record  or  publication.  It  is  more 
probable    that   the    experience    was    incommunicable. 


i 


'\ 


118  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

Even  in  our  lower  sphere,  mental  conflicts  cannot  be 
adequately  reported.  The  vacillations  of  the  soul,  a 
full  expression  of  its  anxieties,  its  agonizing  suspense, 
shame,  remorse,  of  its  yearnings  and  ambitions,  cannot 
be  uttered  or  ^vritten.  For  the  word  "shame"  does 
not  describe  the  experience  of  shame.  Nor  is  the 
word  "  love  "  a  portrait  of  love.  The  real  life  of  the 
heart  is  always  mifolding  in  silence ;  and  men  of  large 
natures  carry  in  the  centre  of  their  hearts  a  secret 
garden  or  a  silent  wilderness.  But  in  how  much 
greater  degree  is  this  true  of  the  mystery  of  Christ's 
temptation  in  the  wilderness,  and  of  his  trial  m  Geth- 
semane  !  If  there  are  no  heart-words  for  full  human 
feelinor,  how  much  less  for  divine ! 

We  know  that  Jesus  grappled  with  the  powers  of 
the  invisible  world,  and  that  he  was  victorious.  His 
life  in  the  wilderness  is  not  to  be  imagined  as  the 
retirement  of  a  philosoj^hic  hermit  to  contemplative 
solitude.  The  cavei^nous  mountain  was  not  merely  a 
study,  in  which  our  Lord  surveyed  in  advance  the 
purposes  of  his  ministerial  life.  All  this,  doubtless, 
formed  a  part  of  his  exj^erience;  but  there  was  more 
than  studious  leisure  and  natural  contemplation.  There 
was  a  conflict  between  his  soul  and  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness ;  a  sphere  of  real  energy,  in  which  the  opposing 
elements  of  good  and  evil  in  the  universe  met  in 
intense  opposition. 

Out  from  that  infinite  aerial  ocean  in  the  great  Ob- 
scure, beyond  human  life,  came  we  know  not  what 
winds,  what  immeasurable  and  sweeping  forces  of 
temptation.  But  that  the  power  and  kingdom  of  the 
Devil  were  there  concentrated  upon  him  was  the  be- 
lief of  liis  disciples  and  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles, 


THE  TEMPTATION.  119 

and  it  is  the  faith  of  the  Christian  Church.  It  is  not 
needful  for  us  to  understand  each  struggle  and  its  vic- 
tory. It  is  enough  for  us  to  know,  that  in  this  un- 
friendly solitude  every  faculty  in  man  that  is  tried 
in  ordinary  life  was  also  tested  and  proved  in  Jesus. 

He  was  "tempted  in  all  pohiis"  or  faculties,  as  we 
are,  though  not  with  the  same  means  and  implements 
of  temptation.  No  human  being  will  ever  be  tried  in 
appetite,  in  passion,  in  affection,  in  sentiment,  in  will 
and  reason,  so  severely  as  was  the  Lord ;  and  his  vic- 
tory was  not  simply  that  he  withstood  the  particular 
blasts  that  rushed  upon  him,  but  that  he  tested  the 
utmost  that  Satan  could  do,  and  was  able  to  bear  up 
against  it,  and  to  come  off  a  conqueror,  —  every  fac-  v 
ulty  stamped  with  the  sign  of  invincibihty. 

The  proof  of  this  appeared  in  aU  his  career.  The 
members  of  his  soul  were  put  to  the  same  stress  that 
sinful  men  experience  in  daily  life.  There  may  be 
new  circumstances,  but  no  new  temptations;  there 
may  be  new  cunning,  new  instruments,  new  conditions, 
but  nothing  will  send  home  temptation  with  greater 
force  than  he  experienced,  or  to  any  part  of  the  soul 
not  assaulted  in  him.  Through  that  long  battle  of  life 
in  which  every  man  is  engaged,  and  in  every  mood  of 
the  struggle  which  men  of  aspiration  and  moral  sense  ■• 
make  toward  perfect  holiness,  there  is  an  inspiration 
of  comfort  to  be  derived  from  the  example  of  Christ. 
In  places  the  most  strange,  and  in  the  desolate  way 
where  men  dwell  with  the  wild  beasts  of  the  passions, 
if  there  be  but  a  twilight  of  faith,  we  shall  find  his 
footstep,  and  know  that  he  has  been  there,  —  is  there 
again,  living  over  anew  in  us  his  own  struggles,  and 
saying,  with  the  authority  of  a  God  and  the  tenderness 


120  TUB  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

of  a  father :  "  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation ; 
but  be  of  good  cheer;  I  have  overcome  the  world." 
The  world  is  a  better  place  to  live  in  since  Christ  suf- 
ered  and  triumphed  in  it. 

We  pass  now  to  another  form  of  the  Temptation. 
It  was  no  longer  to  be  a  private  and  personal  scrutiny. 
Jesus  had  baffled  the  tempter,  and  driven  him  back 
from  the  gate  of  every  emotion.  But  Jesus  was  not  to 
be  a  private  citizen.  He  had  a  transcendent  work  to 
perform,  of  teaching  and  of  suffering.  His  hands  were 
to  bear  more  largely  than  before  the  power  of  God. 
Since  the  descent  upon  him  of  the  Spirit  on  the  banks 
of  the  Jordan,  the  hidden  powers  of  his  nature  were 
springing  into  activity.  Only  when  he  was  prepared 
to  lay  aside  the  clog  of  an  earthly  body  could  he  be 
clothed  again  with  all  that  glory  which  he  had  with 
the  Father  before  the  world  was.  But  the  entrance 
upon  his  public  ministry  was  to  be  signalized,  if  not  by 
the  disclosure  of  his  full  nature,  yet  by  an  ampler  in- 
telligence and  a  wider  scope  of  power.  Tropical  plants 
in  northern  zones,  brought  forward  under  glass,  their 
roots  compressed  to  the  size  of  the  gardener's  pot,  and 
their  tops  pruned  back  to  the  dimensions  of  the  green- 
house, are  at  midsummer  turned  out  into  the  open 
ground,  and  there  shoot  forth  with  new  life  and  vigor; 
and  yet  never,  in  one  short  August,  attain  to  the  gran- 
deur of  their  native  tropical  growth.  So  this  Heav- 
enly Palm,  dropped  down  upon  Palestine,  dwarfed  by 
childhood  and  youth,  shot  forth  new  growth  when 
enfranchised  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  yet  could  not 
in  this  climate,  in  the  short  summer  of  human  life, 
swell  to  the  full  proportions  of  its  celestial  life. 

These  swellings  of  power,  this  new  radiance  of  Intel- , 


THE  TEMPTATION.  121 

llgence,  were  to  be  employed  according  to  the  law  of 
Heaven  ;  and  to  this  end  was  permitted  that  dramatic 
threefold  temptation  with  which  the  scene  in  the  wil- 
derness closes. 

We  have  already  said  that  the  three  closing  tempta- 
tions of  Christ  are  to  be  regarded,  not  as  parables,  but 
as  prophetic  visions.  They  were  historical  events,  but 
in  the  same  sense  as  the  visions  of  Isaiah  or  of  Ezekiel 
were  historical.  Jesus  was  a  Hebrew,  and  stood  in  the 
line  of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  However  fantastic  the 
scenery  and  the  action  of  the  closing  temptations  may 
seem  to  modern  thought,  they  were  entirely  congruous 
with  the  Hebrew  method  of  evolving  the  highest 
moral  truths.  Nor  can  we  fully  appreciate  them  with- 
out some  knowledge  of  the  prophetic  ecstasy. 

The  prophet-mind,  in  its  highest  moods,  hung  in  a  i 
trance  between  the  real  physical  life  and  the  equally 
real  spiritual  state.  The  inspiration  of  those  moods 
seems  to  have  carried  up  the  mind  far  beyond  its 
ordinary  instruments.  Not  ideas,  but  pictures,  were 
before  it.  The  relations  of  time  and  place  seemed  to 
disappear.  The  prophet,  though  stationary,  seemed  to 
himself  to  be  ubiquitous.  He  was  borne  to  distant 
nations,  made  the  circuit  of  kingdoms,  held  high  con- 
ference with  monarchs,  saw  the  events  of  empires  dis- 
closed as  in  a  glass.  His  own  body  often  became 
unconscious.  He  lost  ordinary  sight  of  the  physical 
world.  He  slept.  He  swooned.  For  long  periods  of 
time  he  neither  hungered  nor  thirsted.  The  prophets 
saw  visions  of  the  spirit-land.  Angels  conversed  with 
them.  The  throne  of  God  blazed  full  upon  their  daz- 
zled eyes,  I 

More  wonderfid  still  was  the  symbolization  employed 


122  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

in  this  prophetic  state.  All  the  globe  became  a  texi> 
book.  Beasts  were  symbols  of  kings  or  of  kingdoms. 
Floods,  whirlwinds,  and  earthquakes  moved  in  proces- 
sion before  them  as  types  of  events  in  history.  The 
rush  and  might  of  human  passions,  revolutions,  and 
wars  were  written  for  them  in  signs  of  fire  and  blood. 
Captivity  and  dispersion  were  set  forth  in  the  gorgeous 
imagery  of  storm-driven  clouds ;  of  the  sun  and  moon 
stained  with  blood ;  of  stars,  panic-stricken,  like  de- 
feated warriors,  rushing  headlong  through  the  heavens. 

How  little  are  the  close-cut  wings  of  the  modern 
imagination  prepared  to  follow  the  circuits  of  men  who 
dwelt  in  this  upper  picture-world,  where  the  reason 
was  inspired  through  the  imagination !  Physical  sci- 
ence has  as  yet  no  analogue  for  such  moods.  The 
alembic  says.  It  is  not  in  me ;  the  rocks  and  soil  say, 
It  is  not  in  us.  Poets,  nearest  of  any,  are  in  sympa- 
thy with  the  prophets ;  but  they  mostly  sing  in  the 
boughs,  low  down,  and  not  from  the  clear  air  above. 
The  whole  life  of  the  prophet  was  absorbed  into  an 
intense  spiritual  intuition. 

The  moral  faculties  of  the  human  soul  have  this 
susceptibility  to  ecstatic  exaltation,  and  therefore  the 
prophetic  mood  was  in  so  far  natural.  But  these  facul- 
ties never  unfold  into  the  ecstatic  visions  of  prophecy 
except  by  the  direct  impulse  of  the  Divine  power. 
And  herein  the  prophetic  differs  from  the  merely 
poetic. 

If  the  prophets  had  left  only  these  gigantic  frescoes, 
we  might  pass  them  by  as  the  extraordinary  pro- 
duct of  fantasy.  But  this  was  the  prophetic  style  of 
thinking.  Out  of  all  this  wonderful  commixture  came 
the  profoundest  teaching  in  regard  to  national  moral- 


THE  TEMPTATION.  123 

ity,  the  most  advanced  views  of  their  times  as  to 
personal  purity  and  dignity,  the  most  terrible  invec- 
tives against  dishonor  in  the  individual  and  corrupr 
tion  in  the  government.  Those  clouds  and  flames 
and  storms,  those  girdles  and  yokes  and  flails,  those 
trumjDets  and  voices  and  thunders,  were  only  so  many 
letters  by  which  were  spelled  out,  not  merely  the  no- 
blest spiritual  truths  of  the  prophets'  age,  but  truths 
which  are  the  glory  of  all  ages.  Men  often  are  glad 
of  the  fruit  of  the  prophetic  teaching,  who  reject  with 
contempt  the  methods  by  which  prophets  taught. 

The  effect  becomes  ludicrous  when  modern  inter- 
preters, not  content  with  a  disclosure  of  the  ruling 
thought,  attempt  to  transform  the  whole  gorgeous  pic- 
ture into  modern  equivalents,  to  translate  every  sign 
and  symbol  into  a  literal  fact.  Some  have  thought 
that  prophets  were  insane.  They  were  always  rational 
enough  in  their  own  ways.  It  has  been  the  interpret- 
ers and  commentators  who  have  gone  crazy.  The  at- 
tempt of  men  to  work  up  the  Song  of  Solomon  into 
church-going  apparel  is  folly  past  all  conceit.  Spelling 
Hebrew  words  with  Enghsh  letters  is  not  translation. 
Solomon's  Song,  in  our  modern  exposition,  would  have 
put  Solomon  and  all  his  court  into  amazement.  Who 
can  reproduce  the  opalesque  visions  of  Ezekiel  and 
Hosea  in  the  lustreless  language  of  modern  days  ?  If 
men  were  to  attempt  with  brick  and  mortar  to  build  a 
picture  of  the  auroral  lights,  it  would  scarcely  be  more 
absurd  than  the  attempt  to  find  modern  equivalents 
for  every  part  of  the  sublime  Apocalypse  of  St.  John. 
Let  every  nation  think  in  its  own  language.  Let  every 
period  have  its  own  method  of  inspiration.  As  we  do 
not  attempt  to  build  over  again  Egyptian  temples  in 


124  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

American  cities,  new  pyramids  on  our  prairies,  but 
allow  those  sublime  memorials  to  remain  where  they 
belong,  symbols  of  the  thought  of  ages  ago,  so  we  are 
to  let  the  old  prophets  stand  in  their  solitary  gran- 
deur. 

Like  the  prophets  of  earlier  days,  Jesus  fasted  long, 
and,  shutting  out  external  scenes,  except  such  as  be- 
longed to  the  most  solitary  phases  of  nature,  he  rose 
at  length  to  the  vision  state ;  for  as  in  oratorios  the 
overture  foreshadows  in  brief  the  controlling  spirit 
and  action  of  the  whole  performance,  so  in  the  three 
trial  points  which  close  the  Temptation  there  would 
seem  to  be  a  foreshadowing  of  the  trials  which  through 
his  whole  career  would  beset  Jesus  in  the  use  of  Di- 
vine power. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  strive  too  earnestly  to  gain 
some  idea  of  this  mystery.  Yet,  with  all  our  powers 
of  sympathy  and  imagination,  we  cannot  enter  vividly 
into  the  condition  of  a  pure  being,  come  into  the  world 
from  the  bo,?om  of  God  to  take  the  place  of  a  subject 
and  of  suffering  man.  He  was  "  plagued  as  others  are  "; 
he  was  poor  and  dependent  on  friends  for  very  bread, 
and  yet  was  conscious  of  carrying  within  himself  a 
power  by  which  the  whole  world  should  fly  to  serve 
him ;  he  was  in  disgrace,  the  pity  of  the  ignorant  and 
the  scorn  of  the  great,  and  yet  held  in  his  hand 
that  authority  by  which,  at  a  word,  the  very  stars 
should  praise  him,  and  his  brightness  outshine  the 
utmost  pomp  of  kings  ;  he  was  counted  with  servants, 
and  yet  conscious  of  infinite  dignity;  he  Avas  hated, 
hunted,  persecuted,  even  unto  death,  —  a  death,  too, 
which  then  suggested  turpitude  and  ignominy, —  and 
yet  possessed,  unused,  a  power  which  made  him  supe- 


TUE  TEMPTATION.  125 

rior  to  all  and  more  powerful  than  all.  Such  experi- 
ences might  well  require  beforehand  that  training  and 
divine  instruction  by  which  the  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion was  to  be  made  perfect 

Weary  with  watching,  and  spent  with  hunger,  he 
beholds  the  Adversary  approach.  "  If  thou  be  the  Son 
of  God,  command  that  these  stones  be  made  bread." 
This  scene  will  be  desecrated  if  we  cannot  rise  above 
the  gross  materialism  of  the  Latin  Church.  Contrast 
the  awful  simplicity  of  Christ's  teachings  respecting 
evil  spirits  with  the  grotesque  and  hideous  representa- 
tions of  the  mediaeval  ages.  The  Romans,  it  is  proba- 
ble, derived  this  taint  of  the  imagination  from  the  old 
Tuscans,  to  whom,  if  we  may  judge  from  what  remains 
of  their  arts,  the  future  was  a  paradise   of  horrors.^ 

'  "  The  predominating  feature  of  the  Etruscan  nation,  a  feature  ■which 
had  been  the  result  of  a  natural  disposition,  and  principally  of  a  sacerdotal 
system  very  skilfully  combined,  was  a  gloomy  and  cruel  superstition.  The 
science  of  the  aruspices  and  the  discipline  of  the  augurs  Avere,  as  is  well 
known,  of  Etruscan  invention  ;  it  was  from  Etruria  that  this  kind  of  super- 
stition, reduced  to  a  system  carefully  drawn  up,  was  imported  at  an  early 
period  into  Rome,  where  it  became  the  religion  of  the  state,  and,  as  such, 
intolerant  and  absolute ;  while  in  Greece  ideas  originally  similar,  but  re- 
moved at  an  early  period  from  the  exclusive  dominion  of  the  priests,  exer- 
cised through  the  means  of  oracles  and  great  national  festivities,  which  con- 
tinually placed  the  people  in  movement  and  the  citizens  in  connection  one 
with  the  other,  —  exercised,  I  say,  no  other  influence  and  acquired  no  other 
authority  than  that  of  popular  legends  and  traditions.  With  this  feature 
of  the  national  character  in  ancient  Etruria,  a  feature  which  emanates  from 
a  primitive  disposition,  strengthened  by  the  sacerdotal  system,  we  shall 
soon  see  how  strongly  impressed  are  all  the  monuments  of  this  people. 
Hence  the  human  sacrifices  which  were  for  a  long  time  in  use  there.  Hence 
the  blood-stained  combats  of  gladiators,  which  were  also  of  Etruscan  origin, 
and  which,  after  having  been  for  a  long  time  a  game  among  that  people, 
became  a  passion  among  the  Romans.  Hence,  in  fine,  the  terrible  images 
made  to  inspire  terror  which  are  so  frequently  produced  on  the  monuments 
of  this  people,  —  the  larva;,  the  phantoms,  the  monsters  of  all  kinds,  the  Scyl- 
lae,  the  Medusa,  the  Furies  with  hideous  features,  and  Divine  justice  under 


126  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

This  sensuousness  of  imagination  and  cruel  conception 
of  the  future  passed  into  the  Koman  Christian  Church. 

The  sublime  conception  of  the  Evil  One  as  an  intelli- 
gent prince,  who  would  organize  the  world  for  selfish 
pleasure,  and  who  perpetually  strives  to  bring  down 
spirit  to  matter  and  life  to  mere  sense,  the  everlast- 
ing antagonist  of  the  God  of  love  and  of  pure  spirit, 
gives  place  in  the  Roman  theology  to  those  monstrous 
images  which  have  but  the  single  attribute  of  hideous 
and  brutal  cruelty.  That  fatal  taint  has  corrupted 
the  popular  idea  of  Satan  to  this  day.  He  is  not  a 
mighty  spirit,  but  a  sooty  monster,  an  infernal  vam- 
pire, a  heathen  Gorgon.  The  figures  of  the  Scrip- 
ture, which  in  their  place  are  not  misleading,  the 
serpent  and  the  lion,  (figures  emj^loyed  by  Jesus  to 
inculcate  qualities  becoming  even  in  Christians,)  joined 
to  the  herd  of  bestial  images  with  which  heathenism 
—  the  heathenism  of  a  degraded  Christianity  —  has 
filled  the  world,  lapse  into  excessive  grossness  and 
vulgarity. 

Not  such  was  the  great  Tempter  of  the  wilderness. 
He  might  well  have  risen  upon  the  Saviour's  sight  as 
fair  as  when,  after  a  stormy  night,  the  morning  star 
dawns  from  the  east  upon  the  mariner,  — "  an  angel 
of  light."  To  suppose  that  there  could  be  any  temp- 
tation experienced  by  Jesus  at  the  solicitation  of 
such  a  Devil  as  has  been  pictured  by  the  imagina- 
tions of  monks,  is  to  degrade  him  to  the  level  of  the 
lowest  natures.  In  this  ecstatic  vision  we  may  sup- 
avenging  forms ;  while  in  Greece  milder  manners,  cultivated  by  a  more 
humane  religion,  represented  death  under  agreeable,  smiling,  and  almost 
voluptuous  images."  —  Raoul  Rocbette,  Lectures  on  Ancient  Art,  translated 
from  the  French,  (London,  1854,)  pp.  54,  55. 


THE  TEMPTATION.  127 

pose  that  there  arose  upon  the  Saviour's  imagination 
the  grandest  conception  of  reason  and  of  wisdom. 
It  was  not  meant  to  seem  a  temptation,  but  only  a 
rational  persuasion.  It  was  the  Spirit  of  this  World 
soliciting  Jesus  to  emj)loy  that  Divine  power  which 
now  began  to  effulge  in  him,  for  secular  and  j)hjsical, 
rather  than  for  moral  and  spiritual  ends.  It  was,  if 
one  might  so  say,  the  whole  selfish  spirit  of  time  and 
history  pleading  that  Jesus  should  work  upon  matter 
and  for  the  flesh,  rather  than  ujDon  the  soul  and  for 
the  spirit. 

"If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  command  that  these 
stones  be  made  bread." 

K  this  scene  were  historic  in  the  sense  of  an  ordi- 
nary personal  history,  how  slight  to  a  divine  nature 
would  be  the  temptation  of  eating  bread,  and  how 
harmless  the  act  solicited!  For  if  it  is  right  that 
man  should  employ  his  faculties  in  rearing  harvests 
to  sujoply  necessary  food,  would  it  be  wrong  for  the 
Son  of  Man  to  employ  his  power  in  procuring  the 
needed  bread  ? 

But  as  a  vision  of  prophetic  ecstasy,  in  which  bread 
is  the  sjrmbol  of  physical  life,  the  temptation  is  genu- 
ine and  vital.  "Draw  from  its  sheath  the  power  of  thine 
omnipotence,  if  thou  be  the  Son  of  God.  Come  forth 
from  the  wilderness  as  the  patron  of  physical  thrift. 
Teach  men  inventions.  Multiply  harvests.  Cover  the 
world  with  industry  and  wealth.  Nourish  commerce. 
Let  villages  grow  to  cities.  Let  harbors  swarm  with 
ships.  How  glorious  shalt  thou  be,  how  will  men  follow 
thee  and  all  the  world  be  subdued  to  thy  empire,  if 
thou  wilt  command  the  very  stones  to  become  bread ! 
K  such  power  as  thou  surely  hast  shall  inspire  even 


128  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   TEE  CHRIST. 

the  dead  rocks  with  nourishment,  Nature,  through  all 
her  realm,  will  feel  the  new  life,  and  seed  and  fruit, 
vine  and  tree,  will  give  forth  a  glorious  abundance,  and 
the  wilderness  shall  blossom  as  the  rose." 

This  temptation,  interpreted  from  the  side  of  pro- 
phetic symbolism,  struck  the  very  key-note.  Shall 
Jesus  be  simply  a  civilizer,  or  shall  he  come  to  develop 
a  new  soul-life  ?  Is  it  to  give  new  force  to  matter,  or 
to  break  throuorh  matter  and  raise  the  human  soul  to 
the  light  and  joy  of  the  great  spiritual  sphere  beyond  ? 
He  came  from  the  spirit-land  to  guide  the  innermost 
soul  of  man,  through  matter,  to  victory  over  it. 

The  reply,  "  It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread 
alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth  of  God,"  is  the  precise  counterpart  and  repul- 
sion of  the  perverting  suggestion  of  Satan.  "  Men  do 
not  need  that  to  be  strengthened  in  them  which  is 
already  too  strong.  Not  silver  and  gold,  nor  wine 
and  oil,  nor  cities  and  kingdoms  great  in  riches,  will 
raise  my  brethren  to  a  higher  manhood.  My  new 
food  they  need,  but  that  food  is  spirit-life.  The  word 
of  love,  the  word  of  mercy,  the  word  of  justice  and 
holiness,  issuing  from  God,  —  on  these  the  inner  life 
of  man  must  feed." 

Was  not  this  single  temptation  a  glass  in  which 
he  saw  the  whole  throng  of  temptations  that  would 
meet  him  at  every  turn,  namely,  of  absolute  power 
used  for  immediate  and  personal  convenience  ?  We 
do  not  enough  consider  what  a  perpetual  self-denial 
would  be  required  to  carry  omnipotence,  unused  and 
powerless,  amidst  the  urgent  requirements  of  a  life 
vehemently  pressed  with  motives  of  self-indulgence 
in  its  myriad  minor  forms. 


THE    TEMPTATION.  129 

The  vision  passed;  but  another  rose  in  its  place. 
Since  he  would  not  employ  physical  power  for  physical 
results,  since  men  were  not  to  be  led  through  their 
physical  wants,  but  through  their  spiritual  nature, 
Jesus  was  next  solicited  to  let  the  spirit  of  admi- 
ration and  praise  be  the  genius  of  the  new  move- 
ment. And  now  the  vision  took  form.  There  stood 
the  Temj)le,  and  from  the  peak  of  the  roof  on  the 
court  of  Solomon,  the  plunge  downward,  over  the 
cliff,  to  the  deep  valley  below,  was  fearful.  But  won- 
derful indeed  would  it  be  if  one  casting  himself  down 
thither,  in  the  sight  of  priests  and  people,  should  be 
buoyed  up  by  invisible  hands,  and,  bird-like,  move 
through  the  air  unharmed. 

"  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  cast  thyself  do"\vn  from 
hence ;  for  it  is  written, 

He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to  keep  thee; 

And  in  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up, 

Lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone." 

This  symbol,  as  a  trial  scene,  contains  not  only  an 
appeal  to  the  love  of  praise  in  Jesus,  but  an  appeal 
to  the  principle  of  admiration  in  the  multitude.  If 
he  would  have  a  jorosperous  following  and  an  easy  vic- 
tory over  the  world,  let  him  become  the  master  of 
marvels.  Let  him  show  men  that  a  Divinity  was 
among  them,  not  by  the  inspiration  of  a  higher  life 
in  their  souls,  but  by  such  a  use  of  Divine  power  as 
should  captivate  the  fancy  of  all  who  saw  the  won- 
ders of  skill,  of  beauty,  of  power  and  daring,  which  he 
should  show.  Still  more,  let  him  employ  his  Divine 
power  to  shield  his  heart  from  the  contempt  of  in- 
feriors who  were  outwardly  to  be  his  masters.  He 
was  to  be  a  servant,  when  he  knew  that  he  was  Lord ; 


130  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

he  was  to  have  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  —  birds 
and  foxes  having  more  rights  than  he.  He  was  to  be 
surrounded  mth  spies,  and  pointed  at  as  a  Jew  with- 
out love  of  country,  as  conniving  with  Rome  and 
undermining  the  Temple.  In  every  way,  his  outward 
inferiority  was  to  be  sharply  brought  home  to  him, 
and  that  instinctive  desire  of  all  right  souls,  to  be 
held  in  esteem,  was  to  be  j)ainfully  excited.  One 
flash  of  his  will,  and  scoffs  would  become  hosannas. 
Let  him  employ  Divine  power  for  the  production  of 
pleasure  and  surprise  and  brilliant  applause,  and  men 
would  honor  him,  and  save  him  from  that  under- 
valuing contempt  which  the  spirit  of  the  Temple  (on 
which  in  vision  he  stood)  was  yet  erelong  to  pour 
upon  him. 

In  a  parallel  way,  the  apparition  from  the  mountain- 
top,  of  all  the  glory  of  the  nations,  as  a  literal  fact 
was  impossible  except  by  a  miracle.  And  though  a 
miracle  is  a  fact  wholly  within  the  bounds  of  reason, 
yet  we  are  not  needlessly  to  convert  common  events 
into  miracles.  There  is  no  such  mountain,  nor  on  a 
round  globe  can  be.  Besides,  as  a  direct  persuasion 
to  worship  Satan,  it  would  be  worse  than  feeble,  it 
would  be  puerile.  Far  othenvise  would  it  seem  in 
a  prophetic  vision,  where,  as  a  symbol,  it  was  to  the 
real  truth  what  letters  and  sentences  are  to  the  mean- 
ing which  they  express.  The  impression  produced 
outruns  the  natural  force   of  the  symbol. 

There  was  a  tremendous  temptation  to  exhibit  be- 
fore men  his  real  place  and  authority;  to  appear  as 
great  as  he  really  was ;  to  so  use  his  energies  that  men 
should  admit  him  to  be  greater  than  generals,  higher 
than  kings,  more  glorious  than  Temple  or  Palace.      In 


THE  TEMPTATION.  131 

that  mountain  vision  he  saw  the  line  of  temptations 
which  would  beat  in  upon  the  principle  of  self-esteem, 
that  source  and  fountain  of  ambition  among  men.  In 
all  three  of  these  final  outbursts  we  see  a  prophetic 
representation  of  temptations  addressed  to  his  public 
and  ministerial  course.  They  related  to  that  mat- 
ter of  transcendent  importance,  the  carriage  and  uses 
of  absolute  power.  He  was  in  danger  of  breaking 
through  the  part  which  he  had  undertaken.  He  must 
keep  the  level  of  humanity,  not  in  moral  character 
alone,  but  in  the  whole  handling  of  his  Divinity.  Men 
have  argued  that  Christ  did  not  manifest  Divine 
power ;  forgetting  that  it  was  to  lay  aside  his  govern- 
ing power,  and  to  humble  himself  as  a  man,  that  he 
came  into  the  world.  With  men,  the  difficulty  is  to 
rise  into  eminence.  With  Jesus,  the  very  reverse  was 
true.  To  keep  upon  the  level  of  humanity  was  his 
task,  and  to  rise  into  a  common  and  familiar  use  of 
absolute  power  was  his  danger. 

This  view  is  not  exhaustively  satisfactory.  No  view 
is.  Whichever  theory  one  takes  in  explaining  the 
Temptation,  he  must  take  it  with  its  painful  perplex- 
ities. That  which  is  important  to  any  proj)er  con- 
sideration of  the  obscure  sublimity  of  this  mystery 
is,  that  it  shall  be  a  temptation  of  the  Devil  as  an 
actual  personal  spirit;  that  it  shall  be  a  real  temp- 
tation, or  one  that  put  the  faculties  of  Christ's  soul 
to  task,  and  required  a  resistance  of  his  whole  nature, 
as  other  temptations  do  of  human  nature.  It  is  on 
this  account  that  we  have  regarded  the  Temptation 
as  of  two  parts  or  series,  —  the  first,  a  jjersonal  and 
private  conflict  running  through  forty  solitary  days 
of  fasting  in  the  wilderness ;  and  the  second,  a  min- 


132  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

isterial  trial,  represented  by  the  symbolism  of  the 
bread,  the  Temple,  and  the  mountain-top. 

It  is  not  because  we  think  the  literal  history  open 
to  many  of  the  objections  urged  that  we  prefer  the 
theory  of  a  symbolic  vision.  The  difficulty  sometimes 
alleged,  that  the  Scripture  narrative  clothes  Satan 
with  transcendent  power,  is  not  a  valid  objection, 
unless  the  whole  spirit  of  the  New  Testament  on  this 
point  be  false  and  misleading.  He  is  a  prince  of 
power.  Neither  is  it  an  objection  that  Christ  seemed 
to  submit  to  his  dictation.  For  Jesus  had  humbled 
himself;  he  had  put  himself  under  the  dominion  of 
natural  law,  of  civil  rulers,  of  ecclesiastical  require- 
ments ;  and  why  should  we  hesitate  to  accept  this 
experience  of  the  domineering  arm  of  the  Tempter? 

Nor  should  we  hesitate,  if  they  were  all,  at  the 
feeble  questions,  "  How  could  he  be  conveyed  to  the 
Temple's  summit?"  and,  "How  would  it  be  possi- 
ble from  any  mountain-top  to  see  the  whole  world, 
or  any  considerable  part  of  it?"  If  the  temptation 
in  such  a  literal  manner  was  needful  and  appropri- 
ate, there  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  was  miraculous 
power  to  produce  its  conditions. 

But  we  disincline  to  the  literal  because  it  renders 
Satan  a  wretched,  puerile  creature,  shallow,  flippant, 
and  contemptible.  It  makes  it  impossible  that  Christ 
should  have  been  tempted.  Such  bald  suggestions 
would  scarcely  have  power  to  move  a  child.  They 
would  be  to  Christ  what  a  fool's  bauble  would  be 
to  a  statesman  like  Cecil,  what  a  court  jester's  frib- 
bles would  have  been  to  Bacon  or  to  Sully.  The 
very  possibility  of  tempting  such  a  one  as  Jesus  re- 
quires that  Satan  should  be   a  person  of  some  gran- 


THE   TEMPTATION.  133 

deiir  of  nature,  one  whose  suggestions  should  indicate 
a  knowledge  of  the  springs  of  the  human  heart,  and 
some  wisdom  in  actmg  upon  them. 

The  practical  benefit  of  this  mysterious  and  obscure 
passage  in  the  life  of  Jesus  does  not  depend  upon 
our  ability  to  reduce  it  by.  analysis  to  some  equiv- 
alent in  human  experience.  It  is  enough  that  the 
fact  stands  clear,  that  he  who  was  henceforth  to  be 
the  spiritual  leader  of  the  race  came  to  his  power 
among  men  by  means  of  trial  and  suffering.  The 
experience  of  loneliness,  of  hunger,  and  of  weariness 
for  forty  days,  of  inward  strife  against  selfishness, 
pride,  and  the  glittering  falsities  of  vanity,  brought 
him  into  sympathy  with  the  trials  through  which  must 
pass  every  man  who  seeks  to  rise  out  of  animal  con- 
ditions into  a  true  manhood.  Suffering  has  slain  myr- 
iads ;  yet,  of  all  who  have  reached  a  true  moral  great- 
ness, not  one  but  has  been  nourished  by  suffering. 
Perfection  and  suffering  seem,  in  this  sphere,  insep- 
arably joined  as  effect  and  cause. 

Here  too,  in  this  strange  retirement,  we  behold  the 
New  Man  refusing  the  inferior  weapons  of  common 
secular  life,  determined  to  conquer  by  "  things  that 
are  not,"  by  the  "invincible  might  of  weakness,"  by  ^/ 
the  uplifting  force  of  humility,  by  the  secret  energy 
of  disinterested  love,  and  by  that  sublime  insight. 
Faith,  not  altogether  unkno'wn  before,  but  which 
thereafter  was  to  become  the  great  spiritual  force  of 
history. 


134  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

JESUS,  HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. 

No  man  will  ever  succeed  in  so  reproducing  an  age 
long  past  that  it  shall  seem  to  the  beholder  as  it  did 
to  those  who  lived  in  it.  Even  if  one  is  in  possession 
of  all  the  facts,  and  has  skill  to  draw  a  perfect  picture, 
he  cannot  prevent  our  looking  upon  a  past  age  with 
modern  eyes,  and  with  feelings  and  associations  that 
will  put  into  the  picture  the  coloring  of  our  own  time. 
But  we  can  approach  the  times  and  spirit  of  Roman 
hfe,  or  of  life  in  Athens  in  the  days  of  Socrates,  far 
more  readily  and  easily  than  we  can  the  Jewish  life 
in  the  time  of  Christ.  He  was  of  the  Shemitic  race  ; 
we  are  of  the  Japhetic.  The  orderliness  of  our 
thought,  the  regulated  perceptions,  the  logical  ar- 
rangements, the  rigorous  subordination  of  feeling  to 
volition,  the  supremacy  of  reason  over  sentiment  and 
imagination,  which  characterize  our  day,  make  it  al- 
most impossible  for  us  to  be  in  full  sympathy  with 
people  who  had  little  genius  for  abstractions,  and  whose 
thought  moved  in  such  association  with  feeling  and 
imagination  that  to  the  methodical  man  of  the  West 
much  of  Oriental  literature  which  is  most  esteemed  in 
its  home  seems  like  a  glittering  dream  or  a  gorgeous 
fantasy. 

But  the  attempt  to  reproduce  the  person  and  mind 
of  Jesus,  aside  from  the  transcendent  elevation  of  the 


1.     EAJILIKST    KNOWN,    F!lO^[    CATACOMBS 
OF   ST,    CALIXTUS. 


2.     FROM    KMERALD    INTAGLIO    OF 
FMPEIlOll   TIEEUIUS. 


4.     AFTEll   ALRllECIIT   DUUEI! 


5.     AFTER   PAUL   DE    LA    ROCHE. 


EIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  135 

subject,  meets  with  a  serious  obstacle  in  our  uncon- 
scious preconceptions.  We  cannot  see  him  in  GaUlee, 
nor  in  Judsea,  just  as  he  was.  "We  look  back  upon 
him  through  a  blaze  of  light.  The  utmost  care  will 
not  wholly  prevent  our  beholding  Jesus  through  the 
medimn  of  subsequent  history.  It  is  not  the  Jesus 
who  suffered  in  Palestine  that  we  behold,  but  the  Christ 
that  has  since  filled  the  world  with  his  name.  It  is 
difficult  to  put  back  into  the  simple  mechanic  citizen 
Him  whom  ages  have  exalted  to  Divinity.  Even 
if  we  could  strain  out  the  color  of  history,  we  could 
not  stop  the  beatings  of  the  heart,  nor  disenchant  the 
imagination,  nor  forget  those  personal  struggles  and 
deep  experiences  which  have  connected  our  lives  in 
so  strange  a  manner  with  his.  We  cannot  lay  aside 
our  faith  like  a  garment,  nor  change  at  will  our 
yearning  and  affection  for  Christ,  so  as  not  to  see 
him  in  the  light  of  our  own  hearts.  His  very  name 
is  a  love-name,  and  kindles  in  tender  and  grateful 
natures  a  kind  of  poetry  of  feeling.  As  at  evening 
we  see  the  sun  through  an  atmosphere  which  the  sun 
itself  has  filled  with'  vapor,  and  by  which  its  color 
and  dimensions  are  changed  to  the  eye,  so  we  see 
in  Jesus  the  qualities  which  he  has  inspired  in  us. 

Such  a  state  of  mind  inclines  one  to  devotion, 
rather  than  to  philosophical  accuracy.  The  exalted 
idea  which  we  hold  of  Jesus,  and  our  implicit  and  rev- 
erential view  of  his  Divinity,  still  tend,  as  they  have 
tended  hitherto,  to  give  an  ideal  color  to  his  person 
and  to  his  actual  appearance  among  men  in  the  times 
in  which  he  lived.  It  is  unconsciously  assumed  that 
the  inward  Divinity  manifested  itself  in  his  form  and 
mien.     We  see  liim  in  imagination,  not  as  they  saw 


136  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,  TEE  CHRIST. 

him  who  companied  with  him  from  the  beginning,  but 
under  the  dazzhng  reflection  of  two  thousand  years  of 
adoration.  To  men  of  his  own  times  he  was  simply  a 
citizen.  He  came  to  earth  to  be  a  man,  and  succeeded 
so  perfectly  that  he  seemed  to  his  own  age  and  to  his 
followers  to  be  only  a  man.  That  he  was  remarkable 
for  purity  and  for  power  of  an  extraordinary  kind,  that 
he  was  a  great  prophet,  and  lived  in  the  enjoyment 
of  peculiar  favor  with  God,  and  in  the  exercise  of  pre- 
rogatives not  vouchsafed  to  mere  men,  was  fully  ad- 
mitted ;  but  until  after  his  resurrection,  none  even  of 
his  disciples,  and  still  less  any  in  the  circle  beyond, 
seem  to  have  held  that  view  of  his  person  which 
we  are  prone  to  form  when  in  imagination  we  go 
back  to  Palestine,  carrying  with  us  the  ideas,  the 
pictures,  the  worship,  which  long  years  of  training 
have  bred  in  us. 

There  is  one  conversation  recorded  which  bears 
directly  on  this  very  point,  namely,  the  impression 
which  Jesus  made  upon  his  own  time  and  country- 
men. It  was  near  the  end  of  his  first  year  of  min- 
istry. He  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cassarea  Phi- 
lippi,  north  of  Galilee,  where  he  had  been  engaged 
in  wayside  prayer  with  his  disciples.  By  combining 
the  narratives  in  the  synoptic  Gospels  we  have  the 
following  striking  conversation. 

"Whom  do  men  say  that  I,  the  Son  of  Man,  am?" 

And  the  disciples  answered  and  said :  "  Some  say 
that  thou  art  John  the  Baptist ;  but  some  say  Elijah, 
and  others  say  Jeremiah,  or  that  one  of  the  old  proph- 
ets is  risen  again." 

And  Jesus  saith  unto  them:  "But  whom  say  ye 
that  I  am?" 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  13  7 

Simon  Peter  ansAvered  and  said  unto  him:  "Thou 
art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 

This,  it  is  true,  is  an  explicit  avowal  of  the  speak- 
er's belief  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah.  But  how  im- 
perfect the  reigning  expectation  of  even  the  most 
intelligent  Jews  must  have  been,  in  regard  to  that 
long-expected  personage,  need  not  be  set  forth.  That 
the  disciples  themselves  had  but  the  most  vague 
and  unsatisfying  notion  is  shown,  not  alone  by 
their  whole  career  until  after  the  Lord's  ascension, 
but  by  the  instruction  which  Jesus  proceeded  to 
give  them  in  immediate  connection  with  this  con- 
versation. He  began  to  make  known  to  them  what 
should  befall  him  at  Jerusalem,  his  sufferings,  his 
death  and  resurrection ;  whereat  Peter  rebuked  him, 
and  was  himself  reproved  for  the.  unworthiness  of  his 
conceptions. 

There  is  absolutely  nothing  to  determine  the  per- 
sonal appearance  of  Jesus.  Some  ideas  of  his  bear- 
ing, and  many  of  his  habits,  may  be  gathered  from 
incidental  elements  recorded  in  the  Gospels.  But  to 
his  form,  his  height,  the  character  of  his  face,  or  of 
any  single  feature  of  it,  there  is  not  the  slightest  al- 
lusion. Had  Jesus  lived  in  Greece,  we  should  have 
had  a  very  close  portraiture  of  his  person  and  counte- 
nance. Of  the  great  men  of  Greece  —  of  Socrates,  of 
Demosthenes,  of  Pericles,  and  of  many  others  —  we 
have  more  or  less  accurate  details  of  personal  appear- 
ance. Coins  and  statues  reveal  the  features  of  the 
Roman  contemporaries  of  Jesus;  but  of  Him,  the  one 
historic  personage  of  whose  form  and  face  the  whole 
world  most  desires  some  knowledge,  there  is  not  a 
trace  or  a  hint.     The   disciples  were  neither  literary 


138  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

nor  artistic  men.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  genius 
of  the  race  to  which  they  belonged  ever  inclined 
them  to  personal  descriptions  or  delineations. 

The  religion  and  the  patriotism  of  the  Greek  incited 
him  to  fill  his  temples  with  statues  of  gods,  and  with 
the  busts  of  heroes  and  of  patriots.  The  Greek  artist 
was  scrupulously  trained  to  the  study  of  the  human 
form,  with  special  reference  to  its  representation  in 
art.  But  the  Jew  was  forbidden  to  make  any  image 
or  likeness  or  symbol  of  Divinity.  The  jorohibition, 
though  primarily  confined  to  Deity,  could  not  but 
affect  the  whole  education  in  art;  and  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  there  was  no  Jewish  art,  —  that  paintings 
and  statues  were  unknown,  —  that  Solomon's  Temple 
was  the  single  specimen  of  pure  Jewish  architecture 
of  which  there  is  any  history.  Probably  even  that 
was  Phoenician,  or^  as  some  think,  Persian. 

But  when  men  have  not  formed  the  habit  of  rep- 
resenting external  things  from  an  artistic  point  of 
view,  they  do  not  observe  them  closely.  We  cannot, 
therefore,  wonder  that  there  is  nothing  which  was  at 
any  time  said  by  the  common  people,  or  by  their 
teachers  and  rulers,  and  that  nothing  fell  out  upon 
his  trial,  among  Roman  spectators,  and  nothing  in  the 
subsequent  history,  which  throws  a  ray  of  light  upon 
the  personal  appearance  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

We  know  not  whether  he  was  of  moderate  height 
or  tall,  whether  his  hair  was  dark  or  light,  whether 
his  eyes  were  blue,  or  gray,  or  piercing  black.  We 
have  no  hint  of  mouth  or  brow,  of  j)Osture,  gesture, 
or  of  those  personal  peculiarities  which  give  to  every 
man  his  individual  look.  All  is  blank,  although  four 
separate   accounts   of  him  were  written  within   fifty 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  139 

years  of  his  earthly  hfe.  He  is  to  us  a  personal 
power  without  a  form,  a  name  of  wonder  without  por- 
traiture. It  is  true  that  there  is  a  conventional  head 
of  Christ,  which  has  come  down  to  us  through  the 
schools  of  art,  but  it  is  of  no  direct  historic  value. 

The  early  Fathers  were  divided  in  opinion,  whether 
our  Lord  had  that  dignity  and  beauty  which  became 
so  exalted  a  person,  or  whether  he  was  uncomely 
and  insignificant  in  appearance.  Both  views  appealed 
to  the  j^TOphecies  of  the  Old  Testament  respecting 
the  Messiah:  "Thou  art  fairer  than  the  children  of 
men ;  grace  is  poured  into  thy  lips ;  therefore  God 
hath  blessed  thee  forever.  Gird  thy  sword  upon  thy 
thigh,  0  most  Mighty,  with  thy  glory  and  thy  ma- 
jesty."    (Psalm  xlv.  2,  3.) 

On  the  other  hand :  "  Who  hath  believed  our  re- 
port ?  And  to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  ? 
For  he  shall  grow  up  before  him  as  a  tender  plant, 
and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground;  he  hath  no  form 
nor  comeliness;  and  when  we  shall  see  him,  there  is 
no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  him."  (Isaiah  hii. 
1,  2.) 

As  men  adhered  to  the  one  or  the  other  of  these 
and  like  passages,  they  formed  their  theory  of  Christ's 
personal  appearance.  During  the  persecutions  of  the 
second  and  third  centuries,  the  poor  and  despised 
Christian  found  it  pleasant  to  believe  that  his  Master 
was,  though  very  God,  yet  as  insignificant  outwardly, 
and  as  wretched,  as  the  most  vulgar  of  his  disciples. 
But  when  Christianity  began  to  triumph,  and  to 
hold  the  scej)tre  of  government,  it  was  very  natural 
that  its  votaries  should  desire  to  give  to  its  founder 
a  more   regal  aspect.     St.  Jerome  inveighed  against 


140  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

the  earlier  view,  contending  that,  had  our  Lord  not 
carried  a  truly  Divine  countenance,  his  disciples  would 
not  so  implicitly  have  obeyed  and  followed  him  at  his 
first  call.  It  was  not  far,  probably,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourth  century  that  the  famous  letter 
was  forged,  purporting  to  have  been  written  by 
Publius  Lentulus,  a  friend  of  Pilate,  and  a  contem- 
porary of  Jesus,  of  which  we  shall  soon  speak. 

Portraits  of  Christ  began  to  appear  about  the  same 
time,  each  one  having  a  legend  which  carried  it  back 
to  the  original;  and  by  the  sixth  century  every  prin- 
cipal city  and  Christian  community  had  some  image, 
picture,  cameo,  or  other  representation  of  Christ,  of 
which  hardly  any  two  were  alike.  The  absurdity 
became  so  offensive  that  the  Seventh  General  Coun- 
cil, held  in  Constantinople  in  754,  condemned  all  pic- 
tures whatsoever  which  pretended  to  have  come 
direct  from  Christ  or  his  Apostles.^ 

Such  a  letter  as  the  fictitious  epistle  of  Publius 
Lentulus,  had  one  been  written  by  a  Greek  or 
Roman  contemporary  of  the  Lord,  would  be  of  un- 
speakable interest.  But,  aside  from  the  rare  beauty 
of  its  description,  this  famous  letter  is  of  interest 
only  as  showing  what  were  the  received  opinions  of 
Christians  in  the  fourth  century  respecting  our  Lord's 
personal  appearance.     We  append  the  letter.^ 

^  An  excellent  summary  of  tlie  history  of  the  ideas  concernino;  our  Lord's 
appearance  may  be  found  in  the  Introduction  to  the  first  volume  of  the 
Life  of  our  Lord  as  exemplified  in  Works  of  Art,  &c.,  &c.,  begun  by  Mrs. 
Jameson,  and  continued  by  Lady  Eastlakc. 

*  "  In  this  time  appeared  a  man,  who  lives  till  now,  —  a  man  endowed  with 
great  powers.  Men  call  him  a  great  prophet ;  his  own  disciples  term  him 
the  Son  of  God.  His  name  is  Jesus  Christ.  He  restores  the  dead  to  life, 
and  cures  the  sick  of  all  manner  of  diseases. 

"  This  man  is  of  noble  and  well-proportioned  stature,  with  a  flicc  full  of 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  141 

Altlioiigli  the  sacred  Scriptures  furnish  not  a  single 
hint  of  his  mien,  and  although  the  negative  evidence  is 
strong  that  there  was  nothing  remarkable  in  his  coim- 
tenance  on  ordinary  occasions,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  his  disciples,  as  they  everywhere  narrated  the 
principal  events  of  his  life,  would  be  inquired  of  as 
to  their  Master's  looks.  Nor  is  it  unlikely  that  they 
recalled  what  they  could  of  his  countenance,  for  the 
gratification  of  a  curiosity  inspired  by  love  and  rever- 
ence. The  letter  of  Publius  Lentulus  may  therefore 
be  supposed  to  give  a  clear  view  of  the  countenance 
which  art  had  already  adopted,  and  which  afterward 
served  virtually  as  the  type  of  all  the  heads  of  Christ 
by  the  great  Italian  masters,  and  by  almost  all  mod- 
ern artists.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  this 
typical  head  of  Christ  is  not  a  Jewish  head.  The 
first  portraits  of  Christ  were  made  by  Greek  artists, 
in  the  degenerate  days  of  Grecian  art.  They  could 
hardly  helj)  bringing  unconsciously  to  their  work  the 

kindness  and  yet  firmness,  so  that  tlie  beliolders  botli  love  liim  and  fear 
liim.  His  hair  is  the  color  of  wine,  and  golden  at  the  root,  —  straight,  and 
without  lustre,  —  but  from  the  level  of  the  ears  curling  and  glossy,  and  di- 
vided down  the  centre  after  the  fashion  of  the  Nazarenes  (i.  e.  Nazarites). 
His  forehead  is  even  and  smooth,  his  face  without  blemish,  and  enhanced 
by  a  tempered  bloom.  His  countenance  ingenuous  and  kind.  Nose  and 
mouth  are  in  no  way  faulty.  His  beard  is  full,  of  the  same  color  as  his  hair, 
and  forked  in  form ;  his  eyes  blue,  and  extremely  brilliant. 

"  In  reproof  and  rebuke  he  is  formidable ;  in  exhortation  and  teaching, 
gentle  and  amiable  of  tongue.  None  have  seen  him  to  laugh ;  but  many, 
on  the  contrary,  to  weep.  His  person  is  tall;  his  hands  beautiful  and 
straight.  In  speaking  he  is  deliberate  and  grave,  and  little  given  to  lo- 
quacity.    In  beauty  surpassing  most  men." 

There  is  another  description  of  Jesus  found  in  the  writings  of  St.  John  of 
Damascus,  who  lived  in  the  eighth  centuiy,  and  which  is  taken,  without  doubt, 
from  earlier  writers.  He  says  that  "  Jesus  was  of  stately  growth,  with  eye- 
brows that  joined  together,  beautiful  eyes,  curly  hair,  in  the  prime  of  life, 
with  black  beard,  and  with  a  yellow  complexion  and  long  fingers  like  his 
mother." 


142  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

feelings  and  ideas  inspired  by  the  splendid  represen- 
tations which  had  been  made,  by  the  renowned  ar- 
tists of  their  country,  of  the  figures  and  heads  of  the 
mythologic  deities,  and  especially  of  Zeus, —  to  them 
not  only  the  chief  of  gods,  but  the  highest  reahza- 
tion  of  majesty  and  authority. 

But  now  is  to  be  seen  the  modifying  influence  of 
the  Christian  ideas  in  respect  to  the  expression  of 
Divinity.  The  Christian  artists  all  attempted  to  ex- 
press in  our  Lord's  face  a  feeling  of  spiritual  eleva- 
tion and  of  sympathy,  which  was  wholly  unknown 
to  classic  Grecian  art.  Although  there  is  in  the  early 
heads  of  Christ  the  form  of  a  Greek  ideal  philoso- 
pher's face,  or  of  a  god's,  the  sentiment  which  it  ex- 
presses removes  it  from  the  sphere  of  Greek  ideas. 

Still  less  is  the  historic  art-head  of  Christ  of  the 
Roman  type.  The  round  Roman  head,  the  hard  lines 
of  fiice,  the  harsh  energy  of  expression,  form  a  strik- 
ing contrast  with  the  gentle,  thoughtful,  sympathetic 
countenance  which  comes  down  to  us  from  the  fourth 
century.  As  Christ  spiritually  united  in  himself  all 
nationalities,  so  in  art  his  head  has  a  certain  uni- 
versality. All  races  find  in  it  something  of  their  race 
features.  The  head  of  Christ,  as  it  comes  to  us  from 
the  great  Italian  masters,  is  to  art  what  the  heart  of 
Christ  has  been  to  the  human  race. 

But  how  unsatisfying  is  all  art,  even  in  its  noblest 
achievements,  when  by  the  presentation  of  a  human 
face  it  undertakes  to  meet  the  conceptions  which  we 
•  have  of  the  glory  of  Divinity!  When  art  sets  itself 
to  represent  a  Divine  face  in  Christ,  it  aims  not  only 
at  that  which  is  intrinsically  impossible,  but  at  an 
unhistorical   fact.      It   was   not   to   show   his   royalty 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  143 

that  Christ  came  into  the  world.  He  took  upon  him- 
self the  form  of  a  man.  He  looked  like  a  man.  He 
lived  and  acted  as  a  man.  The  very  miracles  which 
he  wrought  served  to  show,  by  contrast,  the  profound 
agreement  of  his  general  life  with  the  great  lower 
realm  of  nature  into  which  he  had  descended. 

The  attempt  to  kindle  his  face  to  such  ethereal 
glow  that  it  shall  seem  lost  in  light,  must  carry  the 
artist  away  from  the  distinctive  fact  of  the  life  of 
Jesus.  He  was  not  a  man  striving  to  rise  to  the 
Deity.  He  was  God  in  the  flesh,  seeking  to  restrain 
his  Divinity  within  such  bounds  as  should  identify 
him  with  his  brethren,  and  keep  him  within  the  range 
of  their  personal  sympathy. 

No  one  view  of  the  head  of  Jesus  can  satisfy  the 
desires  of  a  devout  spectator.  It  is  impossible  for 
art  to  combine  majesty  and  meekness,  suflering  and 
joy,  indignation  and  love,  sternness  and  tenderness, 
grief  and  triumph,  in  the  same  face  at  one  time. 
Yet  some  special  representations  may  come  much 
nearer  to  satisfying  us  than  others.  The  Christ  of 
Michael  Angelo,  in  his  renowned  picture  of  the  Last 
Judgment,  is  repulsive.  The  head  and  ftxce  of  Christ 
by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  in  the  Last  Supper,  even  in 
its  present  wasted  condition,  produces  an  impression 
upon  a  sensitive  nature  which  it  will  never  forget, 
nor  wish  to  forget.  But  few  of  all  the  representations 
of  Christ  which  have  become  famous  in  art  are  at  all 
helpful,  either  in  bringing  us  toward  any  adequate 
conception  of  the  facts  of  history,  or  in  giving  help 
to  our  devout  feelings  by  furnishing  them  an  out- 
ward expression.  The  great  crowd  of  pictorial  eflbrts 
neither   aid   devotion,  represent  history,  nor  dignify 


144  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

art  Made  without  reverence,  as  professional  exer- 
cises, they  lower  the  tone  of  our  thoughts  and  mis- 
lead our  imagination.  Taking  all  time  together,  it 
may  well  be  doubted  whether  religion  has  not  lost 
more  than  it  has  gained  by  the  pictorial  represen- 
tation of  Jesus.  The  old  Hebrew  example  was  far 
grander.  The  Hebrew  taught  men  spirituality,  when 
he  forbade  art  to  paint  or  to  carve  an  image  of  the 
formless  Deity ;  and  although  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was 
"God  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  and  in  so  far  not  to  be 
reckoned  rigidly  as  within  the  old  Hebrew  rule,  yet 
even  in  this  case  art  can  touch  only  the  humiliation 
of  Divinity,  and  not  its  glory. 

We  could  aiford  to  lose  the  physical  portraiture  of 
Jesus,  if  in  its  stead  we  could  obtain  such  an  idea  of 
his  personal  bearing  and  carriage  as  should  place  him 
before  our  eyes  with  that  impressive  individuality 
which  he  must  have  had  in  the  sight  of  his  contempo- 
raries. Fortunately  there  are  glimjoses  of  his  j^er- 
sonal  bearing.  As  soon  as  men  cease  to  divide  the 
life  of  Christ,  and  apportion  one  part  to  the  man  and 
the  other  to  the  God,  as  soon  as  they  accept  his 
whole  life  and  being  in  its  imity,  —  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh,  —  events  become  more  significant.  They 
are  not  the  actions  of  a  human  soul  in  some  strange 
connection  with  a  Divine  nature  ;  they  are  the  out- 
working of  the  Divine  nature  placed  in  human  circum- 
stances. Their  value,  as  interpreters  of  the  Divine 
feelings,  dispositions,  and  will,  is  thus  manifestly 
augmented. 

Every  system,  whether  of  philosophy  or  of  re- 
ligion, that  was  ever  propounded,  before  Christianity, 
might  be  received  without  any  knowledge,  in  the  dis- 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  I45 

ciple,  of  the  person  of  its  teacher.  The  Parsee  and 
the  Buddhist  beheve  in  a  system  more  than  in  a 
person.  What  Plato  taught  is  more  important  than 
what  Plato  himself  was.  One  may  accept  all  of  Soc- 
rates's  teaching  without  caring  for  Socrates  himself. 
Even  Paul's  development  of  Christian  ideas  does  not 
require  that  one  should  accept  Paul. 

Not  so  Christianity.  Christianity  is  faith  in  Christ. 
The  vital  union  of  our  souls  with  his  was  the  sum  of 
his  teaching,  the  means  by  which  our  nature  was  to 
be  carried  up  to  God's ;  and  all  other  doctrines  were 
auxiliary  to  this  union,  or  a  guide  to  the  life  which 
should  spring  from  it.  To  live  in  him,  to  have  him 
dwelling  in  us,  to  lose  our  personal  identity  in  his, 
and  to  have  it  return  to  us  purified  and  ennobled, — 
this  is  the  very  marrow  of  his  teaching.  "  I  in  them, 
and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect  in 
one."  The  Apostle  summarized  Christianity  as  "  Christ 
in  ?/on,  the  hope  of  glory." 

The  very  genius  of  Christianity,  then,  requires  a 
distinct  conception,  not  of  Christ's  person,  but  of  his 
personality.  This  may  account  for  the  structure  of 
the  Gospels.  They  are  neither  journals  nor  itinera- 
ries ;  still  less  are  they  orderly  expositions  of  doc- 
trine. The  Gospels  are  the  collective  reminiscences 
of  Christ  by  the  most  impressible  of  his  disciples. 
Their  memories  would  retain  the  most  characteristic 
transactions  which  took  place  during  their  intercourse 
with  the  Master,  while  mere  incidental  things,  the 
prosaic  and  unpictorial  portions  of  his  life,  would  fade 
out.  We  find,  therefore,  as  might  be  expected,  in 
all  the  Gospels,  pictures  of  Christ  which  represent 
the  social  and  spiritual  elements  of  his  life,  rather 
10 


146  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

than  the  corporeal.  If  these  biographies  be  compared 
with  the  physical  portraiture  of  heroes  and  gods 
which  classic  literature  has  furnished,  the  contrast 
will  be  striking.  The  Gospels  give  a  portrait,  not 
of  attitudes  or  of  features,  but  of  the  disposition  and 
of  the  soul. 

Most  men,  it  may  be  suspected,  think  of  Jesus  as 
one  above  the  ordinary  level  of  human  existence, 
looking  pitifully  down  upon  the  gay  and  innocent 
pursuits  of  common  hfe,  —  abstract,  ethereal,  wise, 
and  good,  but  living  apart  from  men,  and  descend- 
ing to  their  level  only  to  give  them  rebuke  or  in- 
struction. 

But  we  shall  miss  the  free  companionship  of  Christ, 
if  we  thus  put  him  out  of  the  flimihar  sympathies 
of  every-day  hfe.  He  was  not  a  pulseless  being, 
feeding  on  meditations,  but  a  man  in  every  honorable 
trait  of  manhood,  and  participating  in  the  whole 
range  of  industries,  trials,  joys,  sorrows,  and  tempta- 
tions of  human  kind.  During  at  least  twenty  years 
of  his  life,  if  we  subtract  his  childhood,  he  was  a 
common  laborer.  There  are  incidental  evidences  that 
he  did  not  attract  attention  to  himself  more  than  any 
other  mechanic.  Whatever  experience  hard-laboring 
men  pass  through,  of  toil  poorly  requited,  of  insig- 
nificance in  the  sight  of  the  rich  and  the  powerful, 
of  poverty  with  its  cutting  bonds  and  its  hard  limita- 
tions, Jesus  had  proved  through  many  patient  years. 
And  when  he  began  his  ministry,  he  did  not  stand 
aloof  like  an  ambassador  from  a  foreign  court,  watch- 
ing the  development  of  citizen  manners  as  a  mere 
spectator.  He  entered  into  the  society  of  his  times, 
and  was  an  integral  part  of  it.     He  belonged  to  the 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  I47 

nation,  was  reared  under  its  laws  and  customs,  par- 
took of  its  liabilities,  had  the  ardor  of  elevated  patri- 
otism, and  performed  all  the  appropriate  duties  of  a 
citizen.     John  says,  "He  dwelt  among  us." 

And  yet  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  him  as  spe- 
cialized, either  to  any  nation  or  to  any  class  or  pro- 
fession. He  was  universal.  Although  he  had  the 
sanctity  of  the  priest,  he  was  more  than  priest. 
Though  he  had  a  philosopher's  wisdom,  he  had  a 
royal  sympathy  with  all  of  human  life,  quite  foreign 
to  the  philosophic  temper.  He  was  more  than  a 
prophet,  more  than  a  Jew.  He  touched  human  life 
on  every  side,  though  chiefly  in  its  spiritual  ele- 
ments. He  moved  alike  among  men  of  every  kind, 
and  was  at  home  with  each.  Among  the  poor  he 
was  as  if  poor,  among  the  rich  as  if  bred  to  wealth. 
Among  children  he  was  a  familiar  companion ;  among 
doctors  of  theology  an  unmatched  disj)utant.  Sympa- 
thy, Versatility,  and  Universality  are  the  terms  which 
may  with  justice  be  applied  to  him. 

He  loved  active  society,  and  yet  he  was  fond  of 
solitude ;  he  loved  assemblies  \  he  loved  wayside  con- 
versations with  all  sorts  of  men  and  women.  To-day 
he  roamed  the  highway,  living  upon  the  alms  of  lov- 
ing friends,  and  sleeping  at  night  where  he  chanced 
to  find  a  bed;  to-morrow  we  shall  find  him  at  the 
feasts  of  rich  men,  both  courted  and  feared.  That 
he  did  not  sit  at  the  table  a  mere  spectator  of  social 
joy  is  plain  from  the  fact  which  he  himself  mentions, 
that  by  his  participation  in  feasts  he  brought  upon 
himself  the  reputation  of  being  a  reveller!  (Matthew 
xi.  19.)  The  "beginning  of  miracles"  at  Cana  was 
one  which  was  designed  to  prolong  the  festivities  of 


148  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

a  marriage  feast.  There  is  not  the  record  of  a  single 
reprehension  of  social  festivity,  not  a  severe  speech, 
not  a  disapproving  sentence  uttered  against  the  pur- 
suits and  enjoyments  of  common  life.  He  was  neither 
an  Ascetic  nor  a  Stoic.  The  feasts  of  which  he  jDar- 
took,  and  which  so  often  form  the  basis  of  his  para- 
bles, glowed  with  the  warmth  and  color  of  innocent 
enjoyment.  It  is  plain,  both  that  he  loved  to  see 
men  happy,  and  that  he  was  himself,  in  his  ordinary 
moods,  both  genial  and  cheerful,  or  he  could  not 
have  glided  so  harmoniously  from  day  to  day  into 
the  domestic  and  business  life  of  his  countrymen. 
It  was  only  in  their  public  relations,  and  upon  ques- 
tions of  morality  and  spirituality,  that  he  ever  came 
into  earnest  collision  with  men. 

It  should  be  noticed,  also,  that  there  was  a  peculiar 
kindness  in  his  bearing  which  drew  him  close  to 
men's  persons,  —  the  natural  language  of  affection 
and  sympathy.  He  touched  the  eyes  of  the  blind;  he 
put  his  finger  in  the  ears  of  the  deaf;  he  laid  his 
hands  upon  the  sick.  The  incidental  phrases,  almost 
unnoticed  in  the  Gospels,  show  this  yearning  per- 
sonal fiimiliarity  with  men:  "And  he  could  there  do 
no  mighty  work,  save  that  he  laid  his  hand  tijwn  a  few 
sick  folk  and  healed  them."  ^  "  Now  when  the  sun 
was  setthig,  all  they  that  had  any  sick  with  divers 
diseases  brought  them  unto  him;  and  he  laid  his 
hands  on  every  one  of  them,  and  healed  them."^  "He 
called  her  to  him,  ....  and  he  laid  his  hands  on  her  : 
and  immediately  she  was  made  straight."^ 

The  whole  narrative  of  the  blind  man  given  by 
Mark  (viii.  22-25)  is  full  of  this  tender  and  nursing 

'Markvi.  5.  =  Luke  i v.  40.  »  Luke  xiii.  12,  13. 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  149 

personal  intercourse :  "  And  he  cometh  to  Bethsaida ; 
and  they  bring  a  bhnd  man  unto  him,  and  besought 
him  to  touch  him.  And  he  took  the  bhnd  man  ht/ 
the  hand  and  led  him  out  of  the  town;  and  when  he 
had  spit  on  his  eyes,  and  jt??;^  his  hands  upon  him,  he 
asked  him  if  he  saw  aught.  And  he  looked  up, 
and  said,  I  see  men  as  trees  walking.  After  that, 
he  j)ut  his  hands  again  upon  his  eyes,  and  made 
him  look  up :  and  he  was  restored,  and  saw  every 
man  clearly."  When  the  leper  pleaded  that  he 
might  be  healed,  "  Jesus  jt^zf^f  forth  his  hand,  and  touched 
him,  ....  and  immediately  his  leprosy  was  cleansed." 
(Matthew  viii.  3,  4.)  When  the  centurion  asked  him 
to  heal  his  servant,  expecting  him  only  to  send  the 
word  of  power  to  his  distant  couch,  Jesus  replied,  "I 
will  come  and  heal  him."  Peter's  mother-in-law  being 
sick,  "he  took  her  hfj  the  hand,  and  immediately  the 
fever  left  her."  And  so  the  Gospels  are  full  of 
phrases  that  imply  a  manner  of  great  personal  fa- 
miliarity. "And  he  came  and  touched  the  bier:  and 
they  that  bare  him  stood  still."  "And  he  touched 
their  eyes."  "And  touched  his  tongue."  "But  Jesus 
took  him  by  the  hand,  and  lifted  him  up!' 

In  no  other  place  is  his  loving  and  caressing  man- 
ner more  strikingly  set  forth  than  in  the  account  of 
his  reception  of  little  children.  "And  he  took  them 
up  in  his  arms,  put  his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed 
them."  These  are  bosom  words,  full  of  love-pressure. 
And  in  another  instance,  when  enforcing  the  truth 
of  disinterestedness,  it  was  not  enough  to  illustrate 
it  by  mentioning  childhood,  but  "he  tooJc  a  child,  and 
set  him  in  the  midst  of  them :  and  when  he  had  taken 
him  in  his  arms,  he  said  unto  them.  Whosoever  shall 


150  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

receive  one  of  such  children  in  my  name,  receiveth 
me."     (Mark  ix.  36,  37.) 

Nor  should  we  fail  to  notice  the  interview  with 
Mary,  after  his  resurrection,  in  the  garden.  "Touch 
me  not"  reveals  her  spontaneous  imjDulse,  and  casts 
back  a  light  upon  that  sacred  household  life  and  love 
which  he  had  prized  so  much  at  Bethany. 

But  we  are  not  to  sujDpose,  because  Jesus  moved 
among  the  common  people  as  a  man  among  men, 
that  he  was  regarded  by  his  disciples  or  by  the  peo- 
ple as  a  common  man.  On  the  contrary,  there  was 
a  mysterious  awe,  as  well  as  a  profound  curiosity, 
concerning  him.  He  was  manifestly  superior  to  all 
about  him,  not  in  stature  nor  in  conscious  authority, 
but  in  those  qualities  which  indicate  spiritual  power 
and  comprehensiveness.  His  disciples  looked  upon 
him  both  with  love  and  fear.  Familiarity  and  awe 
alternated.  Sometimes  they  treated  him  as  a  com- 
panion. They  expostulated  and  complained.  They 
disputed  his  word  and  rebuked  him.  At  other  times 
they  Avhispered  among  themselves,  and  dared  not  even 
ask  him  questions.  It  is  plain  that  Jesus  had  moods 
of  lofty  abstraction.  There  were  hidden  depths.  The 
sublimest  exhibition  of  this  took  place  at  his  trans- 
figuration on  the  mount,  but  glimpses  of  the  same 
experience  seem  to  have  flashed  forth  from  time  to 
time.  His  nature  was  not  unfluctuating.  It  had  pe- 
riods of  overflow  and  of  subsidence. 

But  these  clouded  or  outshining  hours  did  not  pro- 
duce fear  so  much  as  veneration.  The  general  effect 
upon  his  disciples  of  intimacy  with  him  was  love. 
Those  who  were  capable  of  understanding  him  best 
loved  him  most.     Jesus  too  was  a  lover,  not  alone  in 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  151 

the  sense  of  general  benevolence,  but  in  the  habit  of 
concentrated  affection  for  particular  persons.  "Then 
Jesus,  beholding  him,  loved  him."  "  He  whom  thou 
lovcst  is  sick."  "Now  Jesus  loved  Martha,  and  her 
sister,  and  Lazarus."  "Then  said  the  Jews,  Behold 
how  he  loved  him."  Surely  it  was  not  for  the  first 
time  at  the  supper  following  the  washing  of  the  disci- 
ples' feet,  that  it  could  be  said  of  John,  "  He,  leaning 
thus  back  on  Jesus'  breast,"  —  for  such  is  the  force 
of  the  original,  in  the  latest  corrected  text.^  That 
must  be  a  loving  and  demonstrative  nature  with  which 
such  familiarity  could  be  even  possible. 

Mark,  more  than  any  other  Evangelist,  records 
the  power  which  Christ  had  in  his  look.  His  eye  at 
times  seemed  to  pierce  with  irresistible  power.  Only 
on  such  a  supposition  can  we  account  for  the  dis- 
may of  those  sent  to  arrest  him.  The  crowd  came 
rushing  upon  him,  led  on  by  Judas.  Jesus  said, 
"  Whom  seek  ye  ?  They  answered  him,  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth.     Jesus    saith  unto  them,  I  am  he As 

soon  then  as  he  had  said  unto  them  I  am  he,  they 
went  backward,  and  fell  to  the  ground." 

When  Peter  had  thrice  denied  him,  "The  Lord 
turned,  and  looked  upon  Peter."  "And  Peter  went 
out  and  wept  bitterly."  Such  cases  will  serve  to  ex- 
plain instances  hke  that  of  the  healing  of  the  man 

'  The  "  leaning  on  Jesus'  bosom,"  in  the  twenty-third  verse  (John  xiii.), 
simply  indicates  that  John,  reclining  at  table  according  to  the  custom  prev- 
alent since  the  captivity,  came  next  below  Jesus,  and  his  head  would  there- 
fore come  near  to  his  Master's  breast.  But  in  the  twenty-fifth  verse  a  differ- 
ent action  is  indicated.  The  language  implies,  that,  in  asking  the  question 
about  the  betrayal,  he  leaned  back  so  as  to  i^est  his  head  upon  his  Lord's 
bosom.  The  reading  "  leaning  hack  on  Jesus'  breast,"  instead  of  "  He  then 
lyhif/  on  Jesus'  breast,"  is  approved  by  Tischendorf,  Green,  Alford,  and 
Tregelles. 


152  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

with  a  withered  hand.  And  he  "  loo/ced  round  about 
on  them  with  anger,  being  grieved  for  the  hardness 
of  their  hearts."  On  another  occasion  he  is  thus  rep- 
resented :  "  Who  touched  me  ?  And  he  looked  round 
about  to  see  her  that  had  done  this  tiling.  But  the 
woman,  fearing  and  trembhng,  ....  came  and  fell 
down  before  him." 

It  is  jDlain,  from  a  comparison  of  passages,  that  his 
gentle  and  attractive  manners,  which  made  him  acces- 
sible to  the  poor,  the  outcast,  and  the  despised,  were 
accompanied  by  an  unperial  manner  which  none 
ever  presumed  ujDon.  Indeed,  we  have  incidental 
mention  of  the  awe  which  he  inspired,  even  in  those 
who  had  the  right  to  intimate  familiarity.  "And 
none  of  the  disciples  durst  ask  him.  Who  art  thou? 
knowing  that  it  was  the  Lord."  All  three  of  the 
synoptical  Gospels  mention  the  effect  produced  by 
his  bearing  and  by  his  answers  to  vexatious  ques- 
tions. "And  after  that,  they  durst  not  ask  liim  any 
question  at  all." 

Mark  mentions  a  very  striking  incident  in  a  man- 
ner so  modest  that  its  significance  is  likely  to  escape 
us.  "And  they  were  in  the  way,  going  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem ;  and  Jesus  went  before  them ;  and  they  were 
amazed ;  and  as  they  followed,  they  were  afraid.  And 
he  took  again  the  twelve,  and  began  to  tell  them 
what  things  should  happen  unto  him."  (Mark  x.  32.) 
It  seems  that  he  was  so  absorbed  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  those  great  events  which  already  overhung 
him,  and  toward  which  he  was  quickening  his  steps, 
that  he  got  before  them  and  walked  alone.  As 
they  looked  upon  him,  a  change  came  over  his 
person.     Once  before,  on  the  mountain,  some  of  them 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  153 

had  been  bewildered  by  his  changed  look.  Yet  it 
was  not  now  an  effulgent  light,  but  rather  sternness 
and  grandeur,  as  if  his  soul  by  anticipation  was  in 
conflict  mth  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  his  Avhole 
figure  lifted  up  as  in  the  act  of  "  despising  the  shame " 
of  the  near  and  ignominious  trial. 

Our  Lord's  great  power  as  a  sjoeaker  depended 
essentially  upon  the  profound  truths  which  he  uttered, 
upon  the  singular  skill  with  which  they  were  adapted 
to  the  peculiar  circmnstances  which  called  them  forth, 
and  to  the  faculty  which  he  had  of  uttering  in  simple 
and  vernacular  phrase  the  most  abstruse  ideas.  But 
there  was  besides  all  this  a  singular  impressiveness  of 
manner  which  it  is  probable  was  never  surpassed.  His 
attitude,  the  extraordinary  influence  of  his  eye,  his 
very  silence,  were  elements  of  j)ower  of  which  the 
Evangehsts  do  not  leave  us  in  doubt. 

There  is  in  Mark's  account  (x.  23)  a  use  of  words 
that  indicates  a  peculiar,  long,  and  penetrating  action 
of  the  eye,  —  a  lingering  deliberation.  "And  Jesus 
looked  round  about,  and  saith  unto  his  disciples.  How 
hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God!"  When  the  disciples,  amazed  with 
the  impressiveness  of  his  word  and  action,  asked, 
"Who,  then,  can  be  saved?"  he  apparently  did  not 
reply  instantly,  but,  with  the  same  long  gaze,  his  eye 
spoke  in  advance  of  his  tongue.  "  Jesus,  looJcing  upon 
them,  saith.  With  men  it  is  impossible,  but  not  with 
God."  In  the  account  given  by  Mark  (viii.  33)  one 
can  see  how  large  an  element  of  impressiveness  was 
derived  from  Christ's  manner  and  expression,  before 
he  spoke  a  word.  "But  when  he  had  turned  about, 
and  looked  on  his  disciples,  he  rebuked  Peter,  saying, 
Get  thee  behmd  me,  Satan!" 


154  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

There  were  times  when  Jesus  did  not  employ  words 
at  all.  Most  impressive  effects  were  derived  from 
his  manner  alone.  "And  Jesus  entered  into  Jerusa- 
lem, and  into  the  temple;  and  when  he  had  looked 
round  about  ujoon  all  things,  and  now  the  even-tide 
was  come,  he  went  out  unto  Bethany."  This  scene 
would  not  have  lingered  in  the  mind  of  the  specta- 
tors, and  been  recorded  in  the  Gospel,  if  his  air  and 
manner  had  not  been  exceedmgly  striking.  It  was 
a  picture  that  could  not  fade  from  the  memory  of 
those  who  had  seen  it,  yet  it  was  a  scene  of  perfect 
silence ! 

There  is  a  poor  kind  of  dignity,  that  never  allows 
itself  to  be  excited,  that  is  guarded  agamst  all  sur- 
prises, that  restrains  the  expression  of  sudden  interest, 
that  holds  on  its  cold  and  careful  way  as  if  superior 
to  the  evanescent  moods  of  common  men.  Such  was 
not  Christ's  dignity.  No  one  seemed  more  a  man 
among  men  in  all  the  inflections  of  human  moods 
than  did  Jesus.  With  the  utmost  simplicity  he  suf- 
fered the  events  of  life  to  throw  their  lights  and 
shadows  upon  his  soul.  He  was  "grieved,"  he  was 
"  angry,"  he  was  "  surprised,"  he  "  marvelled."  In 
short,  his  soul  moved  through  aU  the  moods  of  hu- 
man experience ;  and  while  he  rose  to  sublime  com- 
munion with  God,  he  was  also  a  man  among  men; 
while  he  rebuked  self-indulgence  and  frivolity,  he 
cheerfully  partook  of  innocent  enjoyments;  while  he 
denounced  the  insincerity  or  burdensome  teachings 
of  the  Pharisees,  he  did  not  separate  himself  from 
their  society  or  from  their  social  life,  but  even  ac- 
cepted their  hospitahty,  and  his  dinner  discourses 
contain  some  of  his  most  pungent  teachings. 


HIS  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE.  155 

We  have  purjoosely  omitted  those  views  of  Christ 
which,  through  the  unfolding  process  of  liis  life  and 
teaching,  developed  at  length,  in  the  Apostles'  minds, 
to  the  full  and  clear  revelation  of  Divinity.  We  have 
sketched  him  as  he  must  have  appeared  during  his 
ministry,  when  men  were  gazing  upon  him  in  won- 
der, thinking  that  he  was  "  that  prophet,"  or  "  Elijah," 
or  that  Messiah  "that  should  come." 

We  must  not,  then,  take  with  us,  in  following  out 
the  life  of  Jesus,  the  conception  of  a  formidable 
being,  terrible  in  holiness.  We  must  clothe  him  in 
our  imagination  with  traits  that  made  little  children 
run  to  him;  that  made  mothers  long  to  have  him 
touch  their  babes ;  that  won  to  him  the  poor  and  suf- 
fering ;  that  made  the  rich  and  influential  throw  wide 
open  the  doors  of  their  houses  to  him;  that  brought 
around  him  a  company  of  noble  women,  who  trav- 
elled with  him,  attended  to  his  wants,  and  supplied 
his  necessities  from  their  own  wealth ;  that  irresistibly 
attracted  those  other  women,  in  whom  vice  had  not 
yet  destroyed  all  longing  for  a  better  life ;  that  ex- 
cited among  the  learned  a  vehement  curiosity  of  dis- 
putation, while  the  unlettered  declared  that  he  spake 
as  one  having  authority.  He  was  the  great  Master 
of  nature,  observing  its  laws,  laying  all  his  plans  in 
consonance  with  the  fixed  order  of  things  even  in  his 
miracles ;  seeming  to  violate  nature,  only  because  he 
knew  that  nature  is  not  only  and  alone  that  small 
circle  which  touches  and  includes  physical  matter, 
but  a  larger  province,  enclosing  the  great  spiritual 
world,  including  God  himself  therein. 


156  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 


CHAPTEK    VIII. 


THE   OUTLOOK. 


"Thixk  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law, 
or  the  prophets :  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to 
fulfil."  Jesus  would  reform  the  world,  not  by  destroy- 
ing, but  by  developing  the  germs  of  truth  already 
existing.  He  accepted  whatever  truth  and  goodness 
had  ripened  through  thousands  of  years.  He  would 
join  his  own  work  to  that  already  accomplished,  bring- 
ing to  view  the  yet  higher  truths  of  the  spiritual  realm. 
But  the  design  of  all  his  teaching,  whether  of  morality 
or  of  spirituality,  was  to  open  the  human  spirit  to  the 
direct  influence  of  the  Divine  nature.  Out  of  such  a 
union  would  proceed  by  spiritual  laws  and  tendencies 
all  that  man  ne^ds. 

The  reconciliation  of  the  human  soul  mth  the  Divine 
is  also  the  harmonization  of  the  two  great  spheres, 
the  material  and  the  spiritual.  Men  will  then  be  no 
longer  under  the  exclusive  dominion  of  natural  law 
in  the  plane  of  matter.  They  will  come  under  the  in- 
fluence of  another  and  a  higher  form  of  natural  law, 
that  of  the  spirit.  Nature  is  not  confined  to  matter. 
To  us  it  begins  there ;  but  nature  includes  the  earth 
and  the  heaven,  the  visible  and  the  invisible,  all  mat- 
ter and  all  spirit.  That  portion  of  natural  law  which 
regulates  physical  things  is  nearest  to  our  knowl- 
edge, but   is  not  the  typical  or  universal.     As  seen 


THE  OUTLOOK.  157 

from  above,  doubtless,  it  is  the  lowest  form  of  law. 
Natm^e  is  the  universe.  Nature  as  men's  physical 
senses  discern  it  is  poor  and  meagre  compared  with 
its  expansion  in  the  mvisible  realm  where  God  dwell- 
eth.  Natural  laws  run  through  God's  dominion  in 
harmonious  subordination,  those  of  the  spiritual  world 
having  pre-eminence  and  control. 

We  discern  in  Jesus  the  demeanor  of  one  who  was 
conscious  of  the  universe,  and  who  knew  that  this 
earthly  globe  is  but  its  least  part,  —  normal,  indeed, 
and  serviceable,  but  subject,  auxiliary,  and  subordinate 
to  higher  elements.  He  acted  as  one  who  recognized 
the  uses  of  this  life,  but  who  by  a  heavenly  experience 
knew  its  vast  relative  inferiority.  By  no  word  did 
Jesus  undervalue  civil  laws,  governments,  the  indus- 
tries of  men,  and  their  accumulated  wealth ;  yet  not  a 
syllable  of  instruction  did  he  let  fall  on  these  topics, 
nor  did  4ie  employ  them  to  any  considerable  degree  in 
his  ministry.  To  us,  husbandry,  navigation,  the  per- 
fection of  mechanic  arts,  and  the  discovery  of  hew 
forces  or  the  invention  of  new  combinations,  seem  of 
transcendent  importance.  Men  have  asked  whether 
he  who  threw  no  light  upon  physiology,  who  made 
known  no  laws  of  health  and  no  antidotes  or  remedies 
for  wasting  sicknesses,  who  left  the  world  as  poor  in 
economic  resources  as  he  found  it,  could  be  Divine. 
But  to  one  cognizant  of  the  spiritual  universe  all 
these  things  w^ould  seem  initial,  subordinate,  and  in- 
ferior ;  while  the  truths  of  the  soul  and  of  the  spirit, 
the  science  of  holiness,  would  take  precedence  of  all 
secular  wealth  and  wisdom. 

Physical  elements  might  be  safely  left  to  unfold 
through  that  natural   law  of   development   which   is 


158  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

carrying  the  world  steadily  forward;  but  "the  spirit 
is  weak."  To  bring  the  soul  of  man  into  the  pres- 
ence of  God,  to  open  his  heart  to  the  Divine  influ- 
ence, was  a  need  far  greater  than  that  of  any  sensuous 
help.  We  shall  find  that  Jesus  differed  from  ordinary 
men,  not  by  living  above  natural  laws,  but  by  living 
in  a  larger  sphere  of  natural  laws.  He  harmonized 
in  his  life  the  laws  of  spirit  and  of  matter.  In  all 
that  pertained  to  earthly  life,  he  lived  just  as  men 
hve.  In  that  which  pertained  to  the  spirit,  he  lived 
with  the  air  and  manner  of  one  who  came  from 
heaven.  In  his  miracles  he  but  exhibited  the  su- 
premacy of  the  higher  over  the  lower,  of  the  spiritual 
over  the  material.  A  miracle  is  not  the  setting  aside 
of  a  law  of  nature,  it  is  but  the  exhibition  of  the  su- 
premacy of  a  higher  law  of  nature  in  a  sphere  where 
men  have  been  accustomed  to  see  the  operation  of 
the  lower  natural  laws  alone.  No  man  is  surprised 
at  the  obedience  of  matter  to  his  own  will.  Our 
control  of  our  bodies,  and,  generally,  of  the  organ- 
ized matter  of  the  globe,  increases  in  the  ratio  of 
the  growth  of  our  mental  strength.  Jesus  declared 
that,  if  the  soul  were  opened  up  to  the  Divine  pres- 
ence, this  power  would  be  greatly  augmented;  that 
man's  higher  spiritual  elements  had  a  natural  au- 
thority over  the  physical  conditions  of  this  world ; 
and  that  faith,  prayer,  divine  communion,  in  a  fer- 
vent state,  would  enable  his  followers  to  perform  the 
miracles  that  he  himself  performed.  It  was  this  latent 
power  of  man's  spiritual  nature  that  Christ  sought  to 
develop.  He  strove  to  lift  men  one  sphere  higher, 
and,  without  taking  them  away  from  the  senses,  to 
break  open,  as  it  were,  and  reveal  a  realm  where  the 


THE  OUTLOOK.  159 

spirit  would  dominate  matter,  as  in  this  world  matter 
governs  the  spirit. 

It  is  this  supremacy  of  the  spiritual  over  the  physi- 
cal in  the  great  order  of  a  universe-nature,  rather  than 
of  the  earth-nature,  that  must  be  borne  in  mind,  both 
in  Christ's  own  conduct  and  in  his  discourses  and  his 
promises  to  those  who  truly  entered  his  kingdom ;  and 
that  is  the  rational  explanation  also  of  the  extraor- 
dinary phenomena  which  accompanied  the  Apostle's 
preaching.     (1  Cor.  xii.  4-30.) 

Christ  was  a  Jew,  and  did  not  refuse  to  love  his 
country,  nor  was  he  without  enthusiasm  for  the  his- 
toric elements  wrought  out  so  nobly  by  the  great 
men  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  And  yet  no  one  can  fail 
to  perceive  that  above  all  these  patriotic  enthusiasms, 
and  far  beyond  them,  he  bore  a  nature  which  allied 
him  to  universal  man  without  regard  to  race  or  j)e- 
riod,  and  that  his  being  reached  higher  than  that  of 
common  hmnanity,  and  brooded  in  the  mysterious 
realms  of  the  spirit  land,  beyond  all  human  sight  or 
knowledge. 

We  may  presume,  therefore,  that  in  his  ministry 
there  will  be  found  a  close  adhesion  to  nature ;  that 
as  the  Son  of  Man  he  will  follow  the  methods  of  ordi- 
nary physical  nature,  while  as  the  Son  of  God  he 
will  conform  to  the  laws  of  spiritual  nature.  And  it 
may  be  presupposed  that,  to  those  not  instructed,  one 
part  of  such  observance  of  natural  law  may  seem  to 
conflict  with  another  part,  whereas  both  are  alike 
conformable  to  nature,  if  by  nature  is  meant  God's 
uniyerse. 

When    Jesus   began    his  mission   in   Palestine,   it 


160  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

swarmed  with  a  population  so  mixed  with  foreign 
elements  that  it  might  almost  be  said  to  represent  ev- 
ery people  of  the  then  civilized  world.  No  great  war 
seemed  able  to  leave  Palestine  untouched ;  whether 
it  was  Egypt,  or  Assyria,  or  Greece,  or  Rome  that 
was  at  war,  Palestine  was  sure  to  be  swept  by  the 
inundation.  Every  retiring  wave,  too,  left  behind  it  a 
sediment.  The  physical  conformation  of  the  country 
made  the  northern  part  of  Palestine  a  commercial 
thoroughfare  for  Eastern  and  Western  nations,  while 
Judaea,  lying  off  from  the  grand  routes,  and  not 
favorably  situated  for  commerce,  was  less  traversed 
by  merchants,  adventurers,  or  emigrant  hordes.  And 
so  it  happened  that  Galilee  and  Samaria  were  largely 
adulterated,  while  Judoaa  maintained  the  old  Jewish 
stock  with  but  little  foreign  mixture. 

The  Judaean  Jews  were  proud  of  this  superiority. 
They  looked  upon  Galilee  as  half  given  over  to  bar- 
barism. It  was  styled  "  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles," 
since  thither  had  drifted  a  mixed  population  in  which 
almost  every  nation  had  some  representatives.  No 
one  would  suspect  from  the  dreary  and  impoverished 
condition  of  Palestine  to-day  how  populous  it  Avas  in 
the  time  of  Christ.  The  ruins  of  villages,  towns,  and 
cities,  which  abound  both  on  the  east  and  the  west 
of  the  Jordan,  confirm  the  explicit  testimony  of  Jose- 
phus  to  the  extraordinary  populousness  of  Palestine 
during  our  Lord's  life  and  ministry.  Samaria,  the 
great  middle  section  of  Palestine,  besides  its  large 
infusion  of  foreigners,  had  an  adulterated  home  popu- 
lation. It  was  on  this  account  that  the  puritan  Jews 
of  Jerusalem  and  Judcea  abhorred  the  Samaritans,  and 
refused  to  have  any  dealings  with  them. 


THE  OUTLOOK.  \Q\ 

Galilee,  the  most  populous  section/  was  also  tlie  most 
intermixed  with  pagan  elements.  The  Roman  armies, 
made  up  largely  of  Italian  officers,  but  of  soldiers 
drawn  from  conquered  Oriental  nations,  brought  to 
all  the  large  towns,  and  left  in  them,  a  detritus  of 
the  outside  world.  Already  the  Greek,  a  universal 
rover,  the  merchant  of  that  age  as  the  Jew  has  been 
the  trader  of  subsequent  ages,  was  largely  spread 
through  the  province.  Syria  and  Phoenicia  also  con- 
tributed of  their  people.  Thus,  in  every  part  of  Pal- 
estine, north  and  south,  a  foreign  population  swarmed 
around  the  Jewish  stock  without  changing  it,  and 
without  being  itself  much  changed. 

The  inequahty  of  condition  which  separated  the 
various  classes  of  Jews  was  unfavorable  to  ]3rosperity. 
While  the  northern  province  was  given  to  commerce, 
the  great  plain  of  Esdraelon  serving  as  a  roadway  be- 
tween the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  great 
Syrian  interior  and  the  countries  skirting  the  Lower 
Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea,  yet  the  bulk  of  the  popu- 
lation depended  for  a  precarious  subsistence  upon 
agriculture  and  the  humbler  forms  of  mechanic  art. 
That  affecting  petition  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  "  Give  us 
this  day  our  daily  bread,"  is  an  historic  disclosure  of 
local  want,  as  well  as  an  element  of  universal  devotion. 
It  is  the  prayer  prescribed  for  men  to  whom  it  was 
said, "  Take  no  [anxious]  thought  what  ye  shall  eat, 
what  ye  shall  drink,  or  wherewithal  ye  shall  be 
clothed."  But  commerce  had  made  a  portion  of  the 
people  rich.  Extortion  had  swollen  the  affluence  of 
others.  The  greatest  injustice  prevailed.  Small  pro- 
tection was  given  to  the  weak.     The  Jews  were  a 

'  The  population  of  Galilee  was  about  three  millions. 
11 


162  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

subject  race,  but  not  subdued.  Little  able  to  govern 
themselves,  they  were  still  less  fitted  to  be  governed 
by  another  nation.  Their  religious  training  had  built 
up  in  them  a  character  of  great  strength.  They  were 
proud,  fierce,  and  careless  of  life  to  an  extraordinary 
degree,  whether  it  was  their  own  life  or  that  of  others. 
Political  subjection  was  peculiarly  irksome,  because, 
as  they  interpreted  their  prophets,  the  Jews  were 
God's  favored  people.  They  believed  that  the  family 
of  David,  now  obscure  and  dishonored,  was  yet  to 
hold  the  sceptre  of  universal  monarchy.  They  had 
not  only  a  right  to  be  free,  but  God  had  specially 
promised  that  they  should  rule  all  other  nations,  if 
only  they  kept  his  statutes.  To  keep  his  command- 
ments was  their  one  excessive  anxiety.  They  scruti- 
nized every  particular,  added  duty  to  duty,  multiplied 
and  magnified  particulars,  lest  something  should  be 
omitted.  They  gloried  in  the  Law,  and  devoted  them- 
selves to  it  night  and  day  with  engrossing  assiduity. 
Where,  then,  was  their  reward  ?  Why  was  not  the  Di- 
vine promise  kept  ?  Instead  of  governing  others,  they 
were  themselves  overwhelmed,  subdued,  oppressed. 
Was  this  the  reward  for  their  unexampled  fidelity? 
The  Pharisee  had  kept  his  blood  pure  from  all  taint; 
not  a  drop  of  foreign  blood  polluted  the  veins  of  the 
Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews.  When  Hellenism  threatened 
with  self-indulgent  philosophy  to  destroy  the  fiitli  of 
their  ftithers,  the  Pharisees  had  resisted,  overwhelmed, 
and  driven  it  out.  Josephus,  himself  a  Pharisee,  says 
of  them :  "  In  their  own  idea  they  are  the  flower  of  the 
nation  and  the  most  accurate  observers  of  the  Law." 
And  yet  how  had  God  neglected  them !  His  conduct 
was   inexplicable   and  sadly  mysterious.     It  was  not 


THE  OUTLOOK.  163 

in  their  power  to  keep  their  soil,  nor  even  the  holy 
Temple,  from  the  hated  intrusion  of  the  idolater's  foot. 
Their  priesthood  had  been  converted  to  the  uses  of 
the  detestable  Romans.  The  high-priest,  once  ven- 
erated, had  become  tiie  creature  of  Idumcean  Herod. 
For  many  hundreds  of  years  before  Herod's  reign  the 
Jews  had  seen  but  one  high-priest  deposed.  But  from 
the  conquest  of  Jerusalem  by  Herod  to  its  destruc- 
tion under  Titus,  a  period  of  one  hundred  and  eight 
years,  twenty-eight  high-priests  had  been  nominated, 
making  an  average  term  of  but  four  years  to  each. 
Rulers  were  filled  with  worldly  ambition,  and  scribes 
and  priests  were  continually  intriguing  and  quarrelling 
among  themselves.  Only  so  much  of  the  disthictive 
Jewish  economy  was  left  free  as  could  be  controlled 
by  unscrupulous  politicians  for  the  furtherance  of  their 
own  selfish  ends.  Pride  and  avarice  were  genuine; 
benevolence  and  devotion  were  simulated  or  openly 
disowned. 

It  will  be  well  to  consider  with  some  particularity 
the  three  forms  of  religious  development  which  existed 
in  the  time  of  our  Lord,  —  Ritualism,  Rationalism,  and 
Asceticism,  —  as  represented  respectively  by  the  Phari- 
see, the  Sadducee,  and  the  Essene ;  and  it  will  be 
especially  necessary  to  be  acquainted  with  the  Phari- 
sees, who  were  our  Lord's  chief  and  constant  antago- 
nists, whose  habits  furnished  continual  themes  for  his 
discourses,  and  whose  malign  activity  at  length  was 
the  chief  cause  of  his  death. 

In  no  such  sense  as  that  term  conveys  to  us  were 
the  Pharisees  an  organized  sect.^     They  represented 

^  "  It  is  the  custom  to  contrast  the  Pharisees  with  the  Sadducees,  as  if 
they  were  two  opposite  sects  existing  in  the  midst  of  the  Jewish  nation 


164  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

a  tendency,  and  answered  nearly  to  our  phrase  of 
"  High  Church  "  among  the  Episcopalians,  by  which  we 
do  not  mean  a  separate  organization  within  that  sect, 
but  only  a  mode  or  direction  of  thought  and  adminis- 
tration. 

In  their  origin  and  early  functions  the  Pharisees 
deserved  well  of  their  countrymen,  and  not  so  ill  of 
posterity  as  it  has  fared  with  them.  When  the  Jews 
were  carried  to  Babylon,  so  dependent  had  they  al- 
ways been  upon  the  Temple  and  the  organized  priest- 
hood, that,  in  the  absence  of  these,  their  chief  re- 
ligious supports  fell  to  the  ground.  The  people,  left 
without  teachers,  exiled,  surrounded  by  idolatrous 
practices  which  tempted  the  passions  of  men  with 
peculiar  fascination,  were  likely  to  forget  the  worship 
of  their  fathers,  and  not  only  to  lapse  into  idolatry, 
but  by  intermarriages  to  be  absorbed  and  to  lose  their 
very  nationality.  It  was  therefore  a  generous  and 
patriotic  impulse  which  inspired  many  of  the  more 
earnestly  religious  Jews  to  separate  themselves  from 
aU  foreign  influences,  and  to  keep  alive  the  Jemsh 

and  separated  fi-om  the  body  of  the  Jews.  But  neither  the  Sadducees  nor 
the  Pharisees  were  sects  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word,  least  of  all 
the  latter.  Taken  at  bottom,  the  nation  was  for  the  most  part  Pharisai- 
cally minded  ;  in  other  words,  the  Pharisees  were  only  the  more  important 
and  religiously  inclined  men  of  the  nation,  who  gave  the  most  decided 
expression  to  the  prevailing  belief,  and  strove  to  establish  and  enforce  it  by 
a  definite  system  of  teaching  and  interpretation  of  the  sacred  books.  All 
the  priests  who  were  not  mere  blunt,  senseless  instruments  clung  to  the 
Pharisaical  belief.  All  the  Sephorim,  or  Scribes,  were  at  the  same  time 
Pharisees;  and  where  they  are  spoken  of  side  by  side  as  two  different 
classes,  by  the  latter  (Pharisees)  must  be  understood  those  who,  without 
belonging  Ijy  calling  or  position  to  the  body  of  the  learned,  were  yet  zealous 
in  setting  forth  its  principles,  teachings,  and  practices,  and  surpassed  others 
in  the  example  they  gave  of  the  most  exact  observance  of  the  law." — 
DoUinger's  The  Gentile  and  the  Jew,  (London,  1862,)  Vol.  II.  pp.  304,  305. 


THE  OUTLOOK.  165 

spirit  among  their  poor,  oppressed  countrymen.  The 
name  Pharisee,  in  the  Hebrew,  signifies  one  ivlio  is  sepa- 
rated. When  first  apphed,  it  meant  a  Jew  who,  accord- 
ing to  the  Levitical  Law,  in  captivity  kept  himself  scru- 
pulously separate  from  all  defilements.  Unfortunately, 
the  Pharisee  sought  worthy  ends  by  an  almost  purely 
external  course.  In  this  respect  he  is  in  contrast  with 
the  English  Puritan  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Both 
of  them  were  intensely  patriotic ;  both  set  themselves 
vigorously  against  the  seductive  refinements  and  artful 
blandishments  of  their  times.  The  English  Puritan, 
with  a  clear  perception  of  moral  truth,  and  with  utter 
faith  in  the  power  of  inward  and  spiritual  disposi- 
tions, was  inclined  to  sacrifice  forms,  ceremonies,  and 
symbols,  as  helps  liable  too  easily  to  become  hin- 
drances, fixing  the  senses  upon  an  externality,  and 
leading  men  away  from  simple  spiritual  truth.  But 
the  early  Jewish  Puritan  had  nothing  to  work  with 
except  the  old  Mosaic  Law.  He  sought  to  put  that  be- 
tween his  countrymen  and  idolatry.  By  inciting  them 
to  reverence  and  to  pride  in  their  own  Law  he  saved 
them  from  apostasy,  and  kept  alive  in  their  memories 
the  history  of  their  fathers  and  the  love  for  their  na- 
tive land.  And  so  far  the  labor  of  the  Pharisee  de- 
served praise.  But  the  Levitical  Law  required,  in 
the  great  change  of  circumstances  induced  by  the  Cap- 
tivity, a  re-adaptation,  and,  as  new  exigencies  arose, 
new  interpretations.  Gradually  the  Pharisees  became 
expounders  of  the  Law.  They  grew  minute,  technical, 
literal.  They  sought  for  religion  neither  in  the  imme- 
diate inspiration  of  God  nor  in  nature,  but  in  the  books 
of  Moses  and  of  the  Prophets.  They  were  zealous 
for  tradition  and  ceremony.     The  old  landmarks  were 


166  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

sacred  to  them.  Yet  they  overlaid  the  simplicity  of 
the  ancient  Hebrew  faith  with  an  enormous  mass  of 
pedantic,  pragmatical  details,  that  smothered  the  heart 
and  tormented  the  conscience  of  the  devotee.  Their 
moral  sense  was  drilled  upon  mere  conventional  quali- 
ties. It  had  no  intuition  and  no  liberty.  It  became 
the  slave  of  the  senses. 

Little  by  little  the  work  grew  upon  their  hands. 
Cases  multiplied.  Nice  distinctions,  exceptions,  di- 
visions, and  subdivisions  increased  with  an  enormous 
fecundity.  The  commentary  smothered  the  text.  The 
interpreters  were  in  thorough  earnest ;  but  their  con- 
science ran  to  leaf  and  not  to  fruit.  That  befell  the 
Pharisees  which  sooner  or  later  befalls  all  ritualists, — 
they  fell  into  the  idolatry  of  symbolism.  The  sym- 
bol erelong  absorbs  into  itself  the  idea  which  it  was 
sent  to  convey.  The  artificial  sign  grows  fairer  to  the 
senses  than  is  the  truth  to  the  soul.  Like  manna, 
symbols  must  be  gathered  fresh  every  day.  The 
Pharisee  could  not  resist  the  inevitable  tendency. 
He  heaped  upon  life  such  a  mass  of  helps  and  guides, 
such  an  endless  profusion  of  minute  duties,  that  no 
sensitive  conscience  could  endure  the  thrall.  One  class 
of  minds  went  into  torment  and  bondage,  of  which 
Paul  gives  an  inimitable  picture  in  the  seventh  chapter 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Another  class,  harder 
and  more  self-confident,  conceived  themselves  obedient 
to  the  whole  round  of  duty,  and  became  conceited  and 
vaing^lorious 

The  Pharisees  were  sincere,  but  sincere  in  a  way 
that  must  destroy  tenderness,  devoutness,  and  benevo- 
lence, and  that  must  minister  to  conceit,  hardness 
of  heart,  and  intolerant  arrogance.     No  religion  can 


THE  OUTLOOK.  167 

be  true,  and  no  worship  can  be  useful,  that  does  not 
educate  the  understanding,  kindle  the  aspirations,  give 
to  the  spiritual  part  a  mastery  over  the  senses,  and 
make  man  stronger,  nobler,  freer,  and  purer  than  it 
found  him.  Religion  proves  its  divinity  by  augment- 
ing the  power  and  contents  of  manhood.  If  it  de- 
stroys strength  under  the  pretence  of  regulation,  it 
becomes  a  superstition  and  a  tyranny. 

The  Pharisees  had  not  escaped  the  influence  of  the 
prevalent  philosophies.  Although  they  were  w^orking 
away  from  the  Hellenistic  influence,  they  were  indi- 
rectly moulded  by  it.  It  was  essentially  in  the  re- 
fining spirit  of  Greek  philosophy  that  they  interpreted 
the  old  Hebrew  statutes.  Not  that  they  desired  them 
to  be  less  Jewish.  They  sought  to  make  them  more 
intensely  national.  The  Greek  spirit  wrought  in  the 
Jew  to  make  him  more  intensely  Jewish. 

But  Grecian  influence  had  raised  up  another  school, 
that  of  the  Sadducees.  They  were  the  Epicureans  of 
JudoBa.  It  is  probable  that,  unlike  the  Pharisees,  the 
Sadducees  recognized  the  Grecian  philosophy,  and  ap- 
plied it  to  the  interpretation  of  the  Mosaic  statutes. 
They  accepted  the  chief  doctrine  of  the  Epicurean 
philosophy.  They  admitted  the  agency  of  God  in 
creation.  They  taught  that  things  had  a  nature  of 
their  own,  and  that,  after  being  once  created  and  set 
going,  they  had  need  of  no  Divine  interference  in 
the  way  of  providential  government.  Every  man  had 
his  fate  in  his  own  hands.  Having  organized  the  sys- 
tem of  nature,  God  withdrew  himself,  leaving  men  to- 
their  own  absolute  freedom.  Man  was  his  own  master- 
He  was  the  author  of  his  own  good  and  of  nis  own 
evil,  and  both  the  good  and  the   evil  they  believed 


168  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

to  be  confined  to  this  life.     Death  ended  the  history. 
There  was  to  be  no  new  life,  no  resurrection. 

We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  Sadducees  abandoned 
the  Jewish  Scriptures  for  any  form  of  Grecian  philoso- 
phy. They  rejected  all  the  modern  interpretations  and 
additions  of  the  old  Hebrew  institutes.  They  pro- 
fessed to  hold  to  the  literal  construction  and  inter- 
pretation of  the  sacred  Scri23tures.  They  rejected  all 
tenets  that  were  not  found  in  Moses  and  the  j)rophets. 
This  principle  forced  them  to  assume  a  negative  phi- 
losophy. They  stuck  to  the  letter  of  the  Law,  that 
they  might  shake  off  the  vast  accumulations  which  it 
had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  Pharisees.  But  in 
doing  this  they  rendered  themselves  infidel  to  the 
deepest  moral  convictions  of  their  age.  The  spirit  of 
denial  is  essentially  infidel.  Belief  is  indispensable  to 
moral  health,  even  if  the  tenets  believed  be  artificial. 
There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  the  Sadducees  had 
a  deep  religious  life,  or  any  positive  convictions  which 
redeemed  them  from  the  danger  attending  a  system  of 
negation.  They  were  a  priestly  class,  sceptical  of  the 
truths  which  the  best  men  of  their  age  cherished. 

Thus,  while  they  were  strict  in  their  construction  of 
the  text,  they  were  liberal  in  doctrine.  It  was  through 
literalism  that  they  sought  liberalism.  If  their  refusal 
of  the  Pharisaic  traditions  and  glosses  had  been  for 
the  sake  of  introducing  a  larger  spiritual  element, 
they  would  have  deserved  better  of  their  countrymen. 
As  it  was,  they  were  not  popular.  They  were  not 
the  leaders  of  the  masses,  nor  the  representatives  of 
the  popular  belief,  nor  in  sympathy  with  the  common 
people.  We  can  hardly  regard  them  in  any  other 
light  than  that  of  self-indulgent  and  ambitious  men, 


THE  OUTLOOK.  169 

using  the  national  religion  rather  as  a  defence  against 
the  charge  of  want  of  patriotism  than  from  any  moral 
convictions.  In  short,  they  were  thoroughly  worldly, 
selfish,  and  unlovely. 

Although  the  name  "  Essene "  does  not  occur  in  the 
New  Testament,  yet  the  sect  existed  in  the  time  of 
Christ,  and  probably  exercised  a  considerable  influence 
upon  the  thought  of  many  devout  Jews.  The  Es- 
senes  observed  the  law  of  Moses  with  a  rigor  surpass- 
ing that  of  any  of  their  countrymen.  They,  however, 
rejected  animal  sacrifices.  There  seems  to  have  been 
among  them  an  element  of  worship  derived  from  the 
Persians.  They  addressed  petitions  each  morning  to 
the  sun.  They  felt  bound  to  refrain  in  word  or  act 
from  anything  which  could  profane  that  luminary. 
They  kept  the  Sabbath  even  more  rigorously  than 
the  Pharisees.  They  prepared  all  their  food  the  day 
before.  Not  only  would  they  kindle  no  fires  on  the 
Sabbath,  but  they  would  suffer  no  vessel  to  be  moved 
from  its  place,  nor  would  they  satisfy  on  that  day 
any  of  their  natural  and  necessary  desires.  They 
lived  in  communities,  very  much  apart  from  general 
society ;  but  this  does  not  seem  to  have  arisen  so 
much  from  an  ascetic  spirit  as  from  the  excessively 
restrictive  notions  which  they  cherished  on  the  matter 
of  legal  purity.  To  the  contaminations  established 
by  the  Mosaic  code,  and  all  the  additional  ceremo- 
nial impurities  Avhich  the  ritual  zeal  of  the  Pharisee 
rendered  imminent,  they  added  others  even  more  se- 
vere. To  touch  any  one  not  of  his  own  order  defiled 
an  Essene.  Even  an  Essene,  if  of  a  lower  grade, 
could  not  be  touched  without  defilement.  Such  par- 
ticularity could  scarcely  fail  to  work  social  seclusion. 


170  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

Their  meals  were  strictly  sacrificial,  and  looked  upon 
as  religious  actions.  Every  one  washed  his  whole 
body  before  eating,  and  put  on  a  clean  linen  gar- 
ment, which  was  laid  aside  at  the  end  of  the  meal. 
The  baker  and  the  cook  placed  before  each  his  mess, 
and  the  priest  then  blessed  the  food,  before  which 
none  dared  to  taste  a  morsel. 

They  held  their  property  in  common;  so  that  the 
temporary  community  of  goods  by  the  Christians,  after 
the  Pentecostal  day,  was  not  a  new  or  uncommon 
act  anion  o;  the  Jews.  Marriao;e  was  forbidden.  No 
buying  or  selling  was  permitted  among  themselves. 
They  disallowed  both  slavery  and  war,  neither  would 
they  suffer  any  of  their  sect  to  forge  warlike  arms  for 
others.  They  were  under  the  strictest  subordination 
to  their  own  superiors,  and  implicit  obedience  was  a 
prime  virtue.  They  maintained  perfect  silence  in  their 
assemblies  and  during  their  repasts.  Only  adults  were 
taken  into  the  brotherhood,  and  these  were  required 
to  undergo  a  probation  of  a  year,  and  they  then 
entered  but  the  lowest  grade.  Two  years  more  were 
required  for  full  membership.  The  Essenes  abhorred 
pleasure.  They  were  temperate  in  all  things,  —  in 
food,  in  the  indulgence  of .  their  passions,  and  in  en- 
joyments of  every  kind.  In  many  respects  they  seem 
to  have  resembled  the  modern  Shakers. 

The  Sadducees,  being  a  priestly  and  aristocratic  class, 
were  not  disposed  to  take  any  office  which  would 
impose  trouble  or  care,  and  looked  with  indifference 
or  contempt  upon  the  greater  part  of  that  which 
passed  for  religion  among  the  people.  The  Essenes 
were  small  in  numbers,  their  habits  of  life  were  se- 
cluded, and  they  do  not  seem  to  have  made  any  effort 


THE   OUTLOOK.  171 

at  influencing  the  mind  of  the  people  at  large.  Only 
the  Pharisees  took  pains  to  instruct  the  people.  And 
we  shall  not  understand  the  atmosphere  which  sur- 
rounded our  Lord,  if  we  do  not  take  into  consideration 
the  kind  of  teaching  given  by  them,  and  the  national 
feeling  which  it  had  produced. 

We  are  not  to  undervalue  the  real  excellence  of  the 
Mosaic  institutes  on  account  of  the  burdensome  and 
frivolous  additions  made  to  them  during  a  long  series 
of  interpretations  and  commentaries.  The  institutes 
of  Moses  inculcated  a  sound  morality,  a  kind  and 
benevolent  spirit,  obedience  to  God,  and  reverence 
for  divine  things.  But  as  it  was  interpreted  by  ihe 
Pharisees  it  disproportionately  directed  the  attention 
to  external  acts.  The  state  of  the  heart  was  not 
wholly  neglected.  Many  excellent  distinctions  were 
drawn,  and  wise  maxims  were  given  respecting  purity 
of  thought  and  rectitude  of  motive.  But  the  influ- 
ence of  a  system  depends,  not  upon  few  or  many 
truths  scattered  up  and  down  in  it,  but  upon  the 
accent  and  emphasis  which  is  given  to  its  different 
parts.  Paul  bears  witness  that  his  countrymen  had 
a  "zeal  of  God,  but  not  according  to  knowledge." 
Like  men  in  a  wrong  road,  the  longer  they  toiled 
the  farther  they  were  from  the  end  sought.  Yet 
they  did  not  regard  themselves  as  in  the  wrong.  God 
had  given  them  the  Law.  The  most  signal  promises 
followed  obedience  to  that  Law.  They  should  over- 
come all  their  enemies.  They  should  become  the 
governors  of  those  who  now  oppressed  them.  There- 
fore to  that  obedience  they  addressed  themselves  with 
all  their  zeal  and  conscience.  Lest  they  should  fail  un- 
wittingly, it  was  a  maxim  with  them  that  they  should 


172  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

do  even  more  than  the  Law  required.  And  such  was 
the  scrupulosity  of  the  Pharisee,  that  he  came  to  feel 
that  he  did  perfectly  keep  the  Law,  and  therefore  wait- 
ed impatiently  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  Divine  prom- 
ises. It  was  a  distinct  bargain.  They  were  all  looking 
and  waiting  for  the  Messiah.  When  he  should  come, 
he  would  give  to  the  nation  the  long-needed  leader. 
All  would  unite  in  him.  He  would  march  at  the  head 
of  the  whole  population  to  expel  the  Romans,  to  re- 
deem Jerusalem,  to  purify  the  Temple,  to  extend  the 
sway  of  the  Jewish  religion.  They  brooded  over  these 
joyful  prospects.  Thus,  they  had  their  tests  of  Mes- 
siahship.  He  must  hate  idolaters.  He  must  have 
the  gift  of  leadership.  He  must  represent  the  in- 
tensest  spirit  of  Jewish  patriotism.  He  must  aim  to 
make  Israel  the  head  and  benefactor  of  all  the  nations 
on  earth. 

It  is  plain  that  Jesus  could  not  meet  such  ex- 
pectations. He  must  have  known  from  the  begin- 
ning what  reception  his  countrymen  would  give  him, 
should  he  at  once  announce  himself  as  the  Messiah; 
and  this  will  explain  his  silence,  or  the  guarded  pri- 
vate utterance,  in  the  beginning,  as  to  his  nature  and 
claims. 

Unfavorable  as  was  the  religious  aspect,  the  political 
condition  of  Palestine  was  even  worse.  The  nation 
was  in  the  stage  preceding  dissolution,  —  subdued  by 
the  Romans,  farmed  out  to  court  favorites,  governed 
by  them  with  remorseless  cruelty  and  avarice.  The 
fiery  and  fanatical  patriotism  of  the  Jew  was  continu- 
ally bursting  out  into  bloody  insurrection.  Without 
great  leaders,  without  any  consistent  and  wise  plan  of 
operations,  these  frequent  and  convulsive  spasms  of 


THE  OUTLOOK.  2*j3 

misery  were  instantly  repressed  by  the  Romans  with 
incredible  slaughter. 

Even  if  it  had  been  a  part  of  the  design  of  Je- 
sus to  rescue  the  Jewish  nation  and  perpetuate  it,  he 
came  too  late.  These  frequent  convulsions  were  the 
expiring  struggles  of  a  doomed  people.  Already  the 
prophecies  hung  low  over  the  city.  Death  was  in 
the  very  air.  The  remnant  of  the  people  was  to  be 
scattered  up  and  down  in  the  earth,  as  the  wind  chases 
autumnal  leaves.  Jesus  stood  alone.  He  was  ap- 
parently but  a  peasant  mechanic.  That  which  was 
dearest  to  his  heart  men  cared  nothing  for ;  that  which 
all  men  were  eagerly  pursuing  was  nothing  to  him. 
He  had  no  party,  he  could  conciliate  no  interest.  The 
serpent  of  hatred  was  coiled  and  waiting ;  and,  though 
it  delayed  to  strike,  the  fang  was  there,  ready  and 
venomous,  as  soon  as  his  foot  should  tread  upon  it. 
The  rich  were  luxurious  and  self-indulgent.  The 
learned  were  not  wise ;  they  were  vain  of  an  im- 
mense acquisition  of  infinitesimal  fribbles.  The  igno- 
rant people  were  besotted,  the  educated  class  was 
corrupt,  the  government  was  foreign,  the  Temple  was 
in  the  hands  of  factious  priests  playing  a  game  of 
worldly  ambition.  Who  was  on  his  side?  At  what 
point  should  he  begin  his  mission,  and  how?  Should 
he  stand  in  Jerusalem  and  preach?  Should  he  enter 
the  Temple,  and  announce  to  the  grand  council  his 
true  character? 

It  was  not  the  purpose  of  Jesus  to  present  him- 
self to  the  nation  with  sudden  or  dramatic  outburst. 
There  was  to  be  a  gradual  unfolding  of  his  claims,  of 
the  truth,  and  of  his  whole  nature.     In  this  respect  he 


174  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

conformed  to  the  law  of  that  world  in  which  he  was 
infixed,  and  of  that  race  with  whose  nature  and  con- 
dition he  had  identified  himself.  We  shall  find  him, 
in  the  beginning,  joining  his  ministry  on  to  that  of 
John :  we  shall  next  see  him  taking  up  the  religious 
truths  of  the  Old  Testament  which  were  common  to 
him  and  to  the  people,  but  cleansing  them  of  their 
grosser  interpretations,  and  giving  to  them  a  spiritual 
meaning  not  before  susj^ected  :  then  we  shall  find  a 
silent  change  of  manner,  the  language  and  the  bearing 
of  one  who  knows  himself  to  be  Divine :  and  finally, 
toward  the  close  of  his  work,  we  shall  see  the  full 
disclosure  of  the  truth,  his  equality  with  the  Father, 
his  sacrificial  relations  to  the  Jews  and  to  all  the  world ; 
and  in  connection  with  this  last  fact  we  shall  hear  the 
annunciation  of  that  truth  most  repugnant  to  a  Jew,  a 
svffcring  Messiah. 

Not  only  shall  we  find  this  law  of  progressive  de- 
velopment exemplified  in  a  general  way,  but  we  shall 
see  it  in  each  minor  element.  His  own  nature  and 
claims,  implied  rather  than  asserted  at  first,  he  taught 
with  an  increasing  emphasis  and  fulness  of  disclosure 
to  the  end  of  his  ministry.  His  doctrine  of  spiritual 
life,  as  unfolded  in  the  private  discourses  with  his  dis- 
ciples just  before  his  Passion,  and  recorded  in  the  five 
chapters  beginning  with  the  twelfth  of  John's  Gospel, 
are  remarkable,  not  alone  for  their  spiritual  depth 
and  fervor,  but  as  showing  how  fixr  his  teachings  had 
by  that  time  gone  beyond  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
The  earlier  and  later  teachings  are  in  contrast,  not  in 
respect  to  relative  perfection,  but  in  the  order  of  de- 
velopment. Both  are  perfect,  but  one  as  a  germ  and 
the  other  as  its  blossom.     Jesus  observed  in  all  his 


THE  OUTLOOK.  175 

ministry  that  law  of  growth  which  he  affirmed  in  re- 
spect to  the  kingdom  of  Heaven.  It  is  a  seed,  said  he, 
the  smallest  of  all  seeds  when  sown,  but  when  it  is 
gro^vn  it  is  a  tree.  At  another  time  he  distinguished 
the  very  stages  of  growth :  "  First  the  blade,  then 
the  ear,  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  (Mark 
iv.  28.) 

We  are  then  to  look  for  this  unfolding  process  in 
the  teachings  of  Jesus.  We  shall  find  him  gathering 
up  the  threads  of  morality,  already  partly  woven  into 
the  moral  consciousness  of  his  time ;  we  shall  see  how 
in  his  hands  morality  assumed  a  higher  type,  and  was 
made  to  spring  from  nobler  motives.  Then  we  shall 
find  the  intimations  of  an  interior  and  spiritual  life 
expanding  and  filling  a  larger  sphere  of  thought,  until 
in  the  full  radiance  of  his  later  teachings  it  dazzles 
the  eyes  of  his  disciples  and  transcends  their  spiritual 
capacity. 

In  like  manner  the  divinity  of  Christ's  own  nature 
and  office  was  not  made  prominent  at  first ;  but  gradu- 
ally it  grew  into  notice,  until  during  the  last  half-year 
it  assumed  the  air  of  sovereignty.  In  nothing  is  this 
so  strikingly  shown  as  in  the  teaching  of  his  own 
personal  relations  to  all  true  spiritual  life  in  every 
individual.  It  is  sublime  when  God  declares  himself 
to  be  the  fountain  of  life.  It  would  be  insufferable 
arrogance  in  a  mere  man.  But  by  every  form  of  as- 
sertion, with  incessant  repetition,  Jesus  taught  with 
growing  intensity  as  his  death  drew  near,  that  in 
him,  and  only  in  him,  were  the  sources  of  spiritual 
life.  "  Come  unto  me,"  "  Learn  of  me,"  "  Abide  in 
me,"  "  Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing."  And  yet,  in 
the  midst  of  such  incessant  assertions  of  himself,  he 


176  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

declared,  and  all  the  world  has  conceded  it,  "I  am 
meek  and  lowly  m  heart." 

There  was  a  corresponding  development  in  his  criti- 
cism of  the  prevailing  religious  life,  and  in  the  attacks 
which  he  made  upon  the  ruling  classes.  His  miracles, 
too,  assumed  a  higher  type  from  period  to  period; 
and,  although  we  cannot  draw  a  line  at  the  precise 
periods  of  transition,  yet  no  one  can  fail  to  mark  how 
much  deeper  was  the  moral  significance  of  the  mira- 
cles wrought  in  the  last  few  months  of  his  life,  than 
that  of  those  in  the  opening  of  his  career.  We  are 
not  to  look,  then,  for  a  ministry  blazing  forth  at  the 
beginning  in  its  full  effulgence.  "We  are  to  see  Jesus, 
without  signals  or  ostentation,  taking  up  John's  teach- 
ing, and  beginning  to  preach,  "  Repent,  for  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  at  hand " ;  we  are  to  wait  for  further 
disclosures  issuing  naturally  and  gradually,  in  an  as- 
cending series.  The  whole  life  of  Jesus  was  a  true 
and  normal  growth.  His  ministry  did  not  come  like 
an  orb,  round  and  shining,  perfect  and  full,  at  the 
first:  it  was  a  regular  and  symmetrical  development. 

True,  it  differed  from  all  other  and  ordinary  human 
growths,  in  that  no  part  of  his  teaching  was  false  or 
crude.  It  was  partial,  but  never  erroneous.  The  first 
enunciations  were  as  absolutely  true  as  the  last ;  but 
he  unfolded  rudimentary  truths  in  an  order  and  in 
forms  suitable  for  their  propagation  upon  the  human 
understanding. 

It  is  in  these  views  that  we  shall  find  a  solution  of 
the  seeming  want  of  plan  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  There 
is  no  element  in  it  which  answers  to  our  ordinary 
idea  of  a  prearranged  campaign.  He  knew  that  he 
was  a  sower  of  seed,  and  not  the  reaper.     It  was  of 


THE  OUTLOOK.  177 

more  importance  that  he  should  produce  a  powerful 
spiritual  impression,  than  that  he  should  give  an  or- 
ganized form  to  his  followers.  It  was  better  that  he 
should  develojD  the  germs  of  a  Divine  spiritual  life, 
than  that  he  should  work  any  immediate  change  in 
the  forms  of  society. 

The  Mosaic  institutes  had  aimed  at  a  spiritual 
life  in  man  by  building  up  around  him  restrainmg 
influences,  acting  thus  upon  the  soul  from  the  out- 
side. Jesus  transferred  the  seat  of  action  to  the 
soul  itself,  and  rendered  it  capable  of  self-control. 
Others  had  sought  to  overcome  and  put  down  the  ap- 
petites and  passions ;  Jesus,  by  developing  new  forces 
in  the  soul  and  giving  Divine  excitement  to  the  spir- 
itual nature,  regulated  the  passions  and  harmonized 
them  with  the  moral  ends  of  life.  When  once  the 
soul  derived  its  highest  stimulus  from  God,  it  might 
safely  be  trusted  to  develop  all  its  lower  forces,  which, 
by  subordination,  became  auxiliary.  Jesus  sought  to 
develop  a  whole  and  perfect  manhood,  nothing  lost, 
nothing  in  excess.  He  neither  repelled  nor  underval- 
ued secular  thrift,  social  morality,  civil  order,  nor  the 
fruits  of  an  intellectual  and  aesthetic  culture ;  he  did 
not  labor  directly  for  these,  but  struck  farther  back  at 
a  potential  but  as  yet  undisclosed  nature  in  man,  which 
if  aroused  and  brought  into  a  normal  and  vital  relation 
with  the  Divine  soul  would  give  to  all  the  earlier  de- 
veloped and  lower  elements  of  man's  nature  a  more 
complete  control  than  had  ever  before  been  found,  and 
would  so  fertilize  and  fructify  the  whole  nature  that 
the  outward  life  would  have  no  need  of  special  pat- 
terns. Children  act  from  rules.  Men  act  from  prin- 
ciples.    A  time  will  come  when  they  will  act  from 

12 


178  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

intuitions,  and  right  and  wrong  in  the  familiar  matters 
of  life  will  be  determined  by  the  agreement  or  dis- 
agreement of  things  with  the  moral  sensibility,  as 
music  and  beauty  in  art  already  are  first  felt,  and 
afterwards  reasoned  upon  and  analyzed. 

If  this  be  a  true  rendering  of  Christ's  method,  it  will 
be  ajoparent  that  all  theories  which  imply  that  any  out- 
ward forms  of  society,  or  special  elements  of  art  and 
industry,  or  the  organization  of  a  church,  or  the  purifi- 
cation of  the  household,  or  any  other  special  and  de- 
tenninate  external  act  or  order  of  events  or  institu- 
tions, were  parts  of  his  plan,  will  fail  in  appreciating 
the  one  grand  distinctive  fact,  namely,  that  it  was 
a  psychological  kingdom  that  he  came  to  found.  He 
aimed  not  to  construct  a  new  system  of  morals  or 
of  philosophy,  but  a  new  soul,  with  new  capabilities, 
under  new  spiritual  influences.  Of  course  an  outward 
life  and  form  would  be  developed  from  this  inspiration. 
Men  would  still  need  governments,  institutions,  cus- 
toms. But  with  a  regulated  and  reinforced  nature 
they  could  be  safely  left  to  evolve  these  from  their 
own  reason  and  experience.  As  much  as  ever,  there 
would  be  need  of  states,  churches,  schools.  But  for 
none  of  these  need  any  pattern  be  given.  They  were 
left  to  be  developed  freely,  as  experience  should 
dictate.  Government  is  inevitable.  It  is  a  univer- 
sal constitutional  necessity  in  man.  There  was  no 
more  need  of  providing  for  that,  than  of  providing 
for  sleep  or  for  breathing.  Life,  if  fully  developed 
and  left  free  to  choose,  will  find  its  way  to  all  neces- 
sary outward  forms,  in  government,  in  society,  and  in 
industry. 

Therefore  they  utterly  misconceive  the  genius  of 


THE  OUTLOOK.  179 

Christ's  work  who  suppose  that  he  aimed  at  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  organized  church.  Beyond  the  inci- 
dental commands  to  his  disciples  to  draw  together  and 
maintain  intimate  social  life,  there  is  no  special  or  dis- 
tinctive provision  for  church  organization.  That  was 
left  to  itself  As  after  events  have  shown,  the  tendency 
to  organize  was  already  too  strong.  Religion  has  been 
imprisoned  in  its  own  institutions.  Perhaps  the  most 
extraordinary  contrast  ever  known  to  history  is  that 
which  exists  between  the  genius  of  the  Gospels  and  the 
pompous  claims  of  church  hierarchies.  Christians  made 
haste  to  repeat  the  mistakes  of  the  Hebrews.  Religion 
ran  rank  to  outwardness.  The  fruit,  hidden  by  the 
enormous  growth  of  leaves,  could  not  ripen.  Spiritu- 
ality died  of  ecclesiasticism.  If  the  Church  has  been 
the  nurse,  it  has  also  been  often  the  destroyer  of 
religion. 

If  Jesus  came  to  found  a  church,  never  were  actions 
so  at  variance  with  purposes.  There  are  no  recorded 
instructions  to  this  end.  He  remained  in  the  full  com- 
munion of  the  Jewish  Church  to  the  last.  Nor  did  his 
disciples  or  apostles  dream  of  leaving  the  church  of 
their  fathers.  They  went  up  with  their  countrymen, 
at  the  great  festivals,  to  Jerusalem.  They  resorted  to 
the  Temple  for  worshij).  They  attempted  to  develop 
their  new  life  within  the  old  forms.  Little  by  httle, 
and  slowly,  they  learned  by  exjDerience  that  new  wine 
could  not  be  kept  in  old  bottles.  The  new  life  re- 
quired and  found  better  conditions,  a  freer  conscience, 
fewer  rules,  more  liberty.  For  a  short  period  the  en- 
franchised soul,  in  its  new  promised  land,  shone  forth 
with  great  glory ;  but  then,  like  the  fathers  of  old, 
believers  fell  back  from  liberty  to  superstition,  and 


180  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

for  a  thousand  years  have  been  in  captivity  to  spir- 
itual Babylon. 

The  captivity  is  drawing  to  a  close.  The  Jerusa- 
lem of  the  Spirit  is  descending,  adorned  as  a  bride 
for  the  bridegroom.  The  new  life  in  God  is  gath- 
ering disciples.  They  are  finding  each  other.  Not 
disdaining  outward  helps,  they  are  learning  that  the 
Spirit  alone  is  essential.  All  creeds,  churches,  institu- 
tions, customs,  ordinances,  are  but  steps  upon  which 
the  Christian  plants  his  foot,  that  they  may  help  him 
to  ascend  to  the  perfect  liberty  in  Christ  Jesus. 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  GATE.  Igl 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  HOUSEHOLD   GATE. 

If  one  considers  that,  after  his  experience  in  the 
wilderness,  Jesus  seems  for  a  period  of  some  months 
to  have  returned  to  private  life, — that  he  neither  went 
to  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem,  nor  appeared  before  the 
religious  teachers  of  his  people,  nor  even  apparently 
entered  the  Holy  City,  but  abruptly  dejDarted  to  Gali- 
lee, —  it  may  seem  as  if  he  had  no  plan  of  pro- 
cedure, but  waited  until  events  should  open  the  way 
into  his  ministry. 

But  what  if  it  was  his  purpose  to  refuse  all  public 
life  in  our  sense  of  that  term  ?  What  if  he  meant  to 
remain  a  private  citizen,  working  as  one  friend  would 
with  another,  eschewing  the  roads  of  influence  already 
laid  out,  and  going  back  to  that  simple  personal  power 
which  one  heart  has  upon  another  in  genial  and  friend- 
ly contact  ? 

His  power  was  to  be,  not  with  whole  communities, 
but  with  the  individual,  —  from  man  to  man ;  and  it 
was  to  spring,  not  from  any  machinery  of  institution 
wielded  by  man,  nor  from  official  position,  but  from 
his  own  personal  nature,  and  from  the  intrinsic  force 
of  truth  to  be  uttered.  At  the  very  beginning,  and 
through  his  whole  career,  we  shall  find  Jesus  clinging 
to  private  life,  or  to  jDublic  life  only  in  its  transient 
and  spontaneous  developments  out  of  private  life.     He 


182  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

taiio:lit  from  house  to  house.  He  never  went  amono- 
crowds.  They  gathered  about  him,  and  dissolved 
again  after  he  had  passed  on.  The  pubhc  roadside, 
the  synagogues,  the  princely  mansion,  the  Temple,  the 
boat  by  the  sea-shore,  the  poor  man's  cottage,  were  all 
alike  mere  incidents,  the  accidents  of  time  and  place, 
and  not  in  any  manner  things  to  be  depended  upon 
for  influence.  He  was  not  an  elder  or  a  ruler  in  the 
synagogue,  nor  a  scribe  or  a  priest,  but  strictly  a 
private  citizen.  He  was  in  liis  own  simple  self  the 
whole  power. 

The  first  step  of  Jesus  in  his  ministry  is  a  return 
home  to  his  mother.  This  is  not  to  be  looked  at  mere- 
ly as  a  matter  of  sentiment ;  it  is  characteristic  of  the 
new  dispensation  which  he  came  to  inaugurate. 

In  the  spiritual  order  that  was  now  to  be  introduced 
there  were  to  be  no  ranks  and  classes,  no  public  and 
official  life  as  distinguished  from  private  and  personal. 
The  Church  was  to  be  a  household ;  men  were  to  be 
brethren,  "  members  one  of  another."  God  was  made 
known  as  the  Father,  magisterial  in  love. 

Had  Jesus  separated  himself  from  the  common  life, 
even  by  assuming  the  garb  and  place  of  an  authorized 
teacher,  had  he  affiliated  with  the  Temple  officers,  had 
he  been  in  any  way  connected  with  a  hierarchy,  his 
course  would  have  been  at  variance  with  one  aim  of  his 
mission.  It  was  the  private  life  of  the  world  to  which 
he  came.  His  own  personal  life,  his  home  life,  his  famil- 
iar association  with  men,  his  social  intercourse,  formed 
his  true  public  career.  He  was  not  to  break  in  upon 
the  world  with  the  boisterous  energy  of  warriors,  — 
"  He  shall  not  strive  nor  cry " ;    nor  was  he  to  seek, 


THE  HOUSEHOLD   GATE.  183 

after  the  manner  of  ambitious  orators,  to  dazzle  the 
people,  —  "  His  voice  shall  not  be  heard  in  the  streets." 
Without  pressing  unduly  this  prophecy  of  the  Messiah, 
it  may  be  said  that  it  discriminates  between  an  ambi- 
tious and  noisy  career,  and  a  ministry  that  was  to  move 
among  men  with  gentleness,  affability,  sympathy,  and 
loving  humility. 

AVe  shall  lose  an  essential  characteristic  of  both  his 
disposition  and  his  djsjDensation,  if  we  accustom  our- 
selves to  think  of  Jesus  as  a  public  man,  in  our  sense 
of  official  eminence.  We  are  to  look  for  him  among 
the  common  scenes  of  daily  life,  not  distinguished  in 
any  way  from  the  people  about  him,  except  in  supe- 
rior wisdom  and  goodness.  It  is  true  that  he  often 
stood  in  public  places,  but  only  as  any  other  Jew 
might  have  done.  He  was  never  set  apart  in  an" 
manner  after  the  usages  of  the  priesthood.  He  cf,  .le 
back  from  artificial  arrangements  to  nature.  There  is 
great  significance  in  the  title  by  which  he  almost  inva- 
riably spoke  of  himself,  —  "the  Son  of  Man."  By  this 
title  he  emphasized  his  mission.  He  had  descended 
from  God.  He  was  born  of  woman,  had  joined  himself 
to  the  human  family,  and  meant  to  cleave  fast  to  his 
kindred.  To  one  conscious  of  his  own  Divinity,  the 
title  "Son  of  Man"  becomes  very  significant  of  the 
value  which  he  placed  upon  his  union  with  mankind. 
His  personal  and  intimate  connection  with  the  great 
body  of  the  people,  beginning  with  his  early  years, 
was  continued  to  the  end. 

It  is  not  strange,  then,  that  Jesus  began  his  active 
ministry  with  a  return  from  the  scene  of  his  temptation 
to  his  former  home.  He  did  not  pause  at  Nazareth,  but 
either  went  with  his  mother  or  followed  her  to  Cana, 


184  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CUEIST. 

where  a  wedding  was  to  take  place.  There  were  two 
Canas,  —  one  now  called  Kefr  Kenna,  a  small  village 
about  four  miles  and  a  half  northeast  of  Nazareth,  and 
Kana-el-JcUl,  about  nine  miles  north  of  Nazareth ;  and 
the  best  authorities  leave  it  still  uncertain  in  which 
the  first  miracle  of  our  Lord  was  performed.  It  may 
be  interesting,  but  it  is  not  important,  to  detemune  the 
question. 

The  appearance  of  Jesus  at  the  wedding,  and  his  ac- 
tive participation  in  the  festivities,  are  full  of  meaning. 
It  is  highly  improbable  that  John  the  Baptist  could 
have  been  persuaded  to  appear  at  such  a  service. 
For  he  lived  apart  from  the  scenes  of  common  hfe,  was 
solitary,  and  even  severe.  His  followers  would  have 
been  strongly  inclined  to  fall  in  with  the  philosophy 
nd  practices  of  the  Essenes.  If  so,  the  simple  pleas- 
Ui  3  and  the  ordinary  occupations  of  common  life  would 
be  regarded  as  inconsistent  with  religion.  Jesus  had 
just  returned  from  John's  presence.  He  had  passed 
through  the  ordeal  of  solitude  and  the  temptation  of 
the  wilderness.  He  had  gathered  three  or  four  dis- 
ciples, and  was  taking  the  first  steps  in  his  early  career. 
That  the  very  first  act  should  be  an  attendance,  with 
his  disciples,  by  invitation,  at  a  Jewish  wedding,  which 
was  seldom  less  than  three  and  usually  of  seven  days' 
duration,  and  was  conducted  with  most  joyful  fes- 
tivities, cannot  but  be  regarded  as  a  significant  tes- 
timony. 

The  Hebrews  were  led  by  their  religious  institutions 
to  the  cultivation  of  social  and  joyous  habits.  Their 
great  religious  feasts  were  celebrated  ^vith  some  days 
of  solemnity,  but  with  more  of  festivity  such  as  would 
seem  to  our  colder  manners  almost  like   dissipation. 


THE  HOUSEHOLD   GATE.  185 

In  all  nations  the  wedding  of  young  people  calls  forth 
sympathy.  Among  the  Hebrews,  from  the  earliest 
times,  nuptial  occasions  were  celebrated  with  rejoicings, 
in  which  the  whole  community  took  some  part. 

The  scene  comes  before  us  clearly.  The  bride- 
groom's house,  or  his  father's,  is  the  centre  of  festivity. 
The  bride  and  groom  spend  the  day  separately  in  se- 
clusion, in  confession  of  sin  and  rites  of  purgation.  As 
evening  draws  near,  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the 
bride  bring  her  forth  from  her  parents'  house  in  full 
bridal  apparel,  with  myrtle  vines  and  garlands  of  flowers 
about  her  head.  Torches  precede  the  company ;  music 
breaks  out  on  every  side.  Besides  the  instruments 
provided  for  the  processions,  songs  greet  them  along  the 
way;  for  the  street  is  lined  with  virgins,  who  yield  to 
the  fair  candidate  that  honor  which  they  hope  in  time 
for  themselves.  They  cast  flowers  before  her,  and  little 
cakes  and  roasted  ears  of  wheat.  The  street  resounds 
with  gayety ;  and  as  the  band  draws  near  the  appointed 
dwelling,  the  bridegroom  and  his  friends  come  forth 
to  meet  the  bride  and  to  conduct  her  into  the  house. 
After  some  legal  settlements  have  been  perfected,  and 
the  marriage  service  has  been  performed,  a  sumptuous 
feast  is  provided,  and  the  utmost  joy  and  merriment 
reign.  Nor  do  the  festivities  terminate  with  the  im- 
mediate feast.  A  whole  week  is  devoted  to  rejoicing 
and  gayety. 

It  must  not  be  imagined,  however,  that  such  pro- 
longed social  enjoyment  degenerated  into  dissipation. 
In  luxurious  cities,  and  especially  after  commerce  and 
wealth  had  brought  in  foreign  manners,  the  grossest 
excesses  came  to  prevail  at  great  feasts;  but  the 
common  people  among  the  old  Hebrews  were,  in  the 


186       THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

main,  temperate  and  abstinent.  That  almost  epidemic 
drunkenness  wliicli  in  modern  times  has  prevailed 
among  Teutonic  races,  in  cold  climates,  was  unknown 
to  the  great  body  of  the  Hebrew  nation. 

The  sobriety  and  vigorous  industry  of  the  society 
in  which  we  have  been  educated  indisposes  us  to  sym- 
pathize with  such  expenditure  of  time  for  social  pur- 
poses as  was  connnon  among  the  Hebrews.  We  spare 
a  single  day  at  long  intervals,  and  then  hasten  back 
to  our  tasks  as  if  escaping  from  an  evil.  Weddhigs 
among  the  poorest  Jews,  as  we  have  said,  seldom  ab- 
sorbed less  than  three  days.  ,  The  ordinary  term  of 
conviviality  was  seven  days.  Among  men  of  wealth  or 
eminent  station,  the  genial  service  not  unfrequently 
extended  to  fourteen  days.  During  this  time,  neigh- 
bors came  and  went.  Those  from  a  distance  tarried 
both  day  and  night.  The  time  was  fdlod  up  with 
entertainments  suitable  to  the  condition  of  the  various 
classes.  The  young  employed  the  cool  hours  with 
dances.  The  aged  quietly  looked  on,  or  held  tranquil 
converse  apart  from  the  crowd.  Nor  was  intellectual 
provision  wanting.  Readings  and  addresses  were  then 
miknown.  In  a  land  where  philosopliy  was  as  yet  only 
a  collection  of  striking  proverbs  or  ingenious  enigmas, 
it  was  deemed  an  intellectual  exercise  to  propound 
riddles  and  "  dark  sayings,"  and  to  call  forth  the  exer- 
cise of  the  imagination  in  giving  solutions.  These  oc- 
casions were  not  devoted,  then,  to  a  mere  riot  of  merry- 
making. They  were  the  meetings  of  long-dispersed 
friends,  the  gathering-points  of  connected  families ;  in 
the  absence  of  facilities  for  frequent  intercourse,  the 
seven  (lays  of  a  weddiuijc  feast  Avould  serve  as  a  means 
of  intercommunion  and  the  renewal  of  friendships  ;  and 


THE  HOUSEHOLD   GATE.  187 

it  was  peculiarly  after  the  genius  of  the  Hebrew  people 
that  both  religion  and  social  intercourse  should  take 
place  with  the  accompaniments  of  abundant  eating  and 
drinking.  The  table  was  loaded  with  provisions,  the 
best  that  the  means  of  the  parties  could  supply ;  nor 
was  it  unusual  for  the  guests  also  to  contribute  to  the 
common  stock. 

There  is  no  reason  to  presume  that  the  wedding  at 
Cana  was  of  less  duration  than  the  common  period  of 
seven  days;  and  it  may  be  assumed,  in  the  absence 
of  evidence  to  the  contrary,  that  Jesus  remained  to  the 
end.  It  has  been  surmised  that  it  was  a  near  connec- 
tion of  his  mother  who  was  the  host  upon  this  occasion. 
HoAvever  that  may  be,  she  was  actively  engaged  in  the 
management  of  the  feast,  kept  herself  informed  of  the 
state  of  the  provisions,  sought  to  replenish  them  when 
they  were  expended,  and  assumed  familiar  authority 
over  the  servants,  who  appear  to  have  obeyed  her 
implicitly. 

Nothing  could  well  be  a  greater  violation  of  the 
spirit  of  his  people,  and  less  worthy  of  him,  than 
the  supposition  that  Jesus  walked  among  the  joyous 
guests  with  a  cold  or  disapproving  eye,  or  that  he  held 
himself  aloof  and  was  wrapped  in  his  own  meditations. 
His  whole  life  shows  that  his  soul  went  out  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  human  life  around  him.  His  manners 
were  so  agreeable  and  attractive  that  all  classes  of  men 
instinctively  drew  near  to  him.  It  needs  not  that  we 
imagine  him  breaking  forth  into  effulgent  gayety ;  but 
that  he  looked  upon  the  happiness  around  him  with 
smiles  it  would  be  wrong  to  doubt.  There  are  some 
whose  very  smile  carries  benediction,  and  whose  eye 
sheds  perpetual  happiness. 


188  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

But  Jesus  was  not  simply  a  genial  guest.  He  had 
chosen  the  occasion  for  the  display  of  his  first  miracle. 
It  would  seem  that  more  guests  had  come  to  the  wed- 
ding than  had  been  provided  for,  drawn,  perhaps,  from 
day  to  day,  in  increasing  numbers,  by  the  presence  of 
Jesus.  The  wine  gave  out.  The  scene  as  recorded 
by  John  is  not  without  its  remarkable  features.  The 
air  of  Mary  in  applying  to  her  son  seems  to  point 
either  to  some  previous  conversation,  or  to  the  knowl- 
edge on  her  part  that  he  possessed  extraordinary 
powers,  and  that  he  might  be  expected  to  exercise 
them. 

"  They  have  no  [more]  wine." 

Jesus  said  unto  her,  "  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do 
with  thee  ?  mine  hour  is  not  yet  come." 

Interpreted  according  to  the  impression  which  such 
language  would  make  were  it  employed  thus  abruptly 
in  our  day,  this  reply  must  be  admitted  to  be  not  only 
a  refusal  of  his  mother's  request,  but  a  rebuke  as  well, 
and  in  language  hardly  less  than  harsh.  But  inter- 
preted through  the  imjDression  which  it  produced  upon 
his  mother,  it  was  neither  a  refusal  nor  a  rebuke ;  for 
she  acted  as  one  who  had  asked  and  obtained  a  favor. 
She  turned  at  once  to  the  servants,  with  the  command, 
"  Whatsoever  he  saith  unto  you,  do  it."  This  is  not 
the  lanoruao-e   of  one   who  felt  rebuked,  but  of  one 

DO  -' 

whose  request  had  been  granted. 

In  houses  of  any  pretension  it  was  customary  to 
make  provision  for  the  numerous  washings,  both  of 
the  person  and  of  vessels,  which  the  Pharisaic  usages 
required.  (Mark  vii.  4.)  In  this  instance  there  were 
six  large  water-vessels,  holding  two  or  three  frJcins 
apiece.     The  six  "  water-pots  of  stone,"  therefore,  had 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  GATE.  189 

a  capacity  of  about  one  himclred  and  twenty-six  gal- 
lons.^ 

These  vessels  were  filled  with  water,  and  at  the  will 
of  the  Lord  the  water  became  wine.  When  the  master 
of  the  feast  tasted  it,  it  proved  so  much  superior  to  the 
former  supply  as  to  call  forth  his  commendation.  The 
quantity  of  wine  has  excited  some  criticism ;  but  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  in  Palestine,  where  light 
wines  were  so  generally  a  part  of  the  common  drink, 
four  barrels  of  wine  would  not  seem  a  supply  so  ex- 
traordinary as  it  does  to  people  in  non-wine-growing 
countries,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  see  fiery  wines, 
in  small  quantities  and  at  high  prices.  It  must  also  be 
remembered  that  the  company  was  large,  or  else  the 
provision  would  not  have  given  out,  and  that  it  was 
without  doubt  to  be  yet  larger  from  day  to  day,  the 
miracle  itself  tending  to  bring  together  all  the  neigh- 
borhood. It  is  to  be  considered  also  that  wine,  unlike 
bread,  is  not  perishable,  but  grows  better  with  age  ;  so 
that,  had  the  quantity  been  far  greater  than  their  pres- 
ent need,  it  would  not  be  wasted.     On  the  other  hand, 

^  The  term  "  firkin,"  in  our  English  version,  is  the  Greek  metretes,  corre- 
sponding, according  to  Josephus,  to  the  Hebrew  bath.  The  Attic  metretes 
held  8  gallons  and  7.4  pints.  The  water-vessels  are  said  in  the  Gospel  to 
have  held  between  two  and  three  fii'kins,  or  metretes,  apiece,  which  would 
be  somewhere  between  17  and  25  gallons.  Calling  it  21  gallons,  six  of  them 
would  be  126  gallons.  The  writer  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary  places  the 
quantity  at  110  gallons;  but  Wordsworth  gives  136.  The  lowest  estimate 
which  we  have  seen  puts  it  at  60  gallons,  but  the  weight  of  authority  places 
it  as  in  the  text. 

It  has  been  remarked,  that  the  fact  that  these  vessels  were  exclusively 
appropriated  to  water,  and  never  used  for  holding  wine,  will  prevent  the 
slipping  over  this  miracle  by  saying  that  wine  was  already  in  the  vessels, 
and  that  water  was  only  added  to  it.  The  quantity,  too,  made  it  impos- 
sible that  it  should  have  been  wrought  in  an  underhanded  and  collusive 
manner.  It  is  the  very  first  of  a  long  series  of  nuracles,  and  one  of  the  most 
indisputable. 


190  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

there  were  reasons  why  the  supply  should  be  gen- 
erous. The  wine  had  once  given  out.  The  strange 
supply  said  to  every  one,  There  can  be  no  second  fail- 
ure. Abundance  goes  with  power  wherever  the  Divine 
hand  works. 

That  the  wine  created  by  our  Lord  answered  to  the 
fermented  wine  of  the  country  would  never  have  been 
doubted,  if  the  exigencies  of  a  modern  and  most  benefi- 
cent reformation  had  not  created  a  strong  but  unwise 
disposition  to  do  away  with  the  imdoubted  example  of 
our  Lord.  But  though  the  motive  was  good,  and  the 
effort  most  ingeniously  and  plausibly  carried  out,  the 
result  has  failed  to  satisfy  the  best  scholars ;  and  it  is 
the  almost  universal  conviction  of  those  competent  to 
form  a  judgment,  that  our  Lord  did  both  make  and 
use  wines  which  answer  to  the  fermented  wines  of  the 
present  day  in  Palestine.^ 

^  The  editors  of  the  Congregational  Review,  No.  54,  pp.  398,  399,  in  a 
review  of  Comrmmion  Wine  and  Bible  Temperance,  by  Kev.  William  M. 
Thayer,  pubUshed  by  the  National  Temperance  Society,  18G9,  use  the 
following  language  :  — 

"  We  respect  the  zeal  of  Mr.  Thayer,  and  do  not  question  his  .sincerity. 
But  we  have  gone  over  the  arguments  he  has  reproduced ;  we  have  con- 
sidered his  so-called  evidence,  which  has  so  often  done  duty  in  its  narrow 
range ;  we  have  pondered  the  discussions  of  Lees,  Nott,  Ritchie,  and  Duf- 
field,  before  him  ;  what  is  more,  we  have  gone  over  the  Greek  and  Hebrew 
Scrijjtures  carefully  for  ourselves  ;  have  sifted  the  testimony  of  travellers 
who  knew,  and  those  Avho  did  not  know  ;  have  corresponded  with  mission- 
aries and  conferred  with  Jewish  Rabbis  on  this  subject;  and  if  there  is  any- 
thing in  Biblical  literature  on  which  we  can  speak  confidently,  we  have  no 
doubt  that  Dr.  Laurie  is  right  and  that  Rev.  Mr.  Thayer  is  wrong."  (Mr. 
Thayer's  book  is  an  attempt  to  show  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  wine 
spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  one  of  which  is  intoxicating  and  the  other  not.) 

"  In  these  views  we  are  thoroughly  supported.  If  we  mistake  not,  the 
Biblical  scholarship  of  Andovcr,  Pi-inceton,  Newton,  Chicago,  and  New 
Haven,  as  well  as  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary  and  Kitto's  Biblical  Cyclopcedia, 
is  with  us.  One  of  the  most  learned  and  devout  scholars  of  the  country 
recently  said  to  us :  '  None  but  a  third-rate  scholar  adopts  the  view  that 


THE  HOUSEHOLD   GATE.  191 

Drunkenness  has  prevailed  in  all  ages  and  in  all 
countries,  but  it  has  been  the  vice  of  particular  races 
far  more  than  of  others.  In  the  earlier  periods  of 
the  world,  all  moral  remedial  influences  were  rela- 
tively weak.  With  the  progressive  development  of 
man  we  have  learned  to  throw  off  evils  by  ways 
which  were  scarcely  practicable  in  early  days.  So  it 
has  been  with  the  sin  of  drunkenness.  Christian  men 
proposed,  some  half  a  century  ago,  voluntarily  to  ab- 
stain from  the  use,  as  a  diet  or  as  a  luxury,  of  all 
that  can  intoxicate.  A  revolution  of  public  sentiment 
gradually  followed  in  respect  to  the  drinking  usages  of 
society.  This  abstinence  has  been  urged  upon  various 
grounds.  Upon  the  intrinsic  nature  of  all  alcoholic 
stimulants  temperance  men  have  been  divided  in  opin- 
ion, some  taking  the  extreme  ground  that  alcohol  is 
a  poison,  no  less  when  developed  by  fermentation  and 
remaining  in  chemical  combination  than  when  by  dis- 
tillation it  exists  in  separation  and  concentration,  —  a 
statement  in  which  some  physiologists  of  note  have 
concurred.  But  these  views  have  never  won  favor  with 
the  great  body  of  physiologists,  and  the  more  recent  in- 
vestigators are  farther  from  admitting  them  than  their 
predecessors.  Yet  it  is  certain  that  the  discussions  and 
investigations  have  destroyed,  it  may  be  hoped  forever, 
the  extravagant  notions  which  have  prevailed  in  all 
countries  as  to  the  benefits  of  wine  and  strong  drinks. 
It  is  admitted  that  they  are  always  injurious  to  many 
constitutions,  that  they  are  medically  useful  in  far  less 

tlie  Bible  describes  two  kinds  of  wine.'  The  National  Temperance  So- 
ciety lias  done  its  best  to  create  a  different  popular  belief,  if  not  to  cast 
odium  on  those  who  do  not  accept  its  error.  We  regret  it,  for  the  tem- 
perance cause  can  be  carried  on  by  sound  arguments  and  fair  means,  and 
all  false  methods  must  recoil  at  last." 


192  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

degrees  and  in  fewer  instances  than  hitherto  has  been 
supposed,  and  that  to  ordinary  persons  in  good  health 
they  are  not  needful,  adding  neither  any  strength  nor 
any  vitality  which  could  not  be  far  better  attained  by 
wholesome  food  and  suitable  rest. 

A  certain  advantage  would  be  gained  in  the  advo- 
cacy of  total  abstinence  if  it  could  be  shown  that  any 
use  of  wine  is  a  sin  against  one's  own  nature.  But 
the  moral  power  of  example  is  immeasurably  greater 
if  those  who  hold  that  wine  and  its  colleagues  are  not 
unwholesome  when  used  sjDaringly  shall  yet,  as  a  free- 
will offering  to  the  weak,  cheerfully  refrain  from  their 
use.  To  relinquish  a  wrong  is  praiseworthy ;  but  to 
yield  up  a  personal  right  for  benevolent  purposes  is 
far  more  admirable. 

There  have  not  been  many  spectacles  of  equal  moral 
impressiveness,  since  the  coming  of  Christ,  than  the 
example  of  millions  of  Christian  men,  in  both  hemi- 
spheres, cheerfully  and  enthusiastically  giving  up  the 
use  of  intoxicating  drink,  that  by  their  example  they 
might  restrain  or  win  those  wdio  were  in  danger  of 
ruinous  temptation.  If  in  any  age  or  nation  the  evil 
of  intemperance  is  not  general  nor  urgent,  the  entire 
abstinence  from  wine  may  be  wise  for  peculiar  individ- 
uals, but  it  can  have  no  general  moral  influence,  since 
the  conditions  would  be  wanting  which  called  for  self- 
sacrifice. 

Had  Jesus,  living  in  our  time,  beheld  the  wide  waste 
and  wretchedness  arising  from  inordinate  appetites, 
can  any  one  doubt  on  which  side  he  would  be  found  ? 
"Was  not  his  whole  life  a  superlative  giving  up  of  his 
own  rights  for  the  benefit  of  the  fliUen  ?  Did  he  not 
teach  that  customs,  institutions,  and  laws  must  yield  to 


THE  HOUSEHOLD  GATE.  193 

the  inherent  sacreclness  of  man  ?  In  his  own  age  he 
ate  and  drank  as  his  countrymen  did,  judging  it  to 
be  safe  to  do  so.  But  this  is  not  a  condemnation  of 
the  course  of  those  who,  in  other  lands  and  under 
different  circumstances,  wholly  abstain  from  wine  and 
strong  drink,  for  their  own  good  and  for  the  good  of 
others.  The  same  action  has  a  different  moral  sig- 
nificance in  different  periods  and  circumstances.  Jesus 
followed  the  harmless  custom  of  his  country ;  when, 
in  another  age  and  country,  the  same  custom  had  be- 
come mischievous,  would  he  have  allowed  it?  "All 
things  are  lawful  unto  me,  but  all  things  are  not  expe- 
dient." (1  Cor.  vi.  12.)  "It  is  good  neither  to  eat 
flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  anything  whereby  thy 
brother  ....  is  made  weak."     (Rom.  xiv.  21.) 

The  example  of  Christ  beyond  all  question  settles 
the  doctrine,  that,  if  abstinence  from  wine  is  practised, 
it  must  be  a  voluntary  act,  a  cheerful  surrender  of  a 
thing  not  necessarily  in  itself  harmful,  for  the  sake  of  a 
true  benevolence  to  others.  But  if  it  be  an  extreme 
to  wrest  the  example  of  Christ  in  favor  of  the  total- 
abstinence  theories  of  modern  society,  it  is  a  yet  more 
dangerous  one  to  employ  his  example  as  a  shield  and 
justification  of  the  drinking  usages  which  have  proved 
the  greatest  curse  ever  known  to  man.  Nor  can  we 
doubt  that  a  voluntary  abstinence  from  all  that  intoxi- 
cates, as  a  diet  or  a  luxury,  by  all  persons  in  health, 
for  moral  reasons,  is  in  accordance  with  the  very  spirit 
of  the  gospel.  The  extraordinary  benefits  which  have 
accompanied  and  followed  the  temperance  refonnation 
mark  it  as  one  of  the  great  victories  of  Christianity. 

The  scenes  at  Cana  are  especially  grateful  to  us  as 

13 


194  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

disclosing  the  inward  feeling  of  Jesus  respecting  social 
life,  as  well  as  the  peculiar  genius  of  Christianity. 
He  began  his  mission  to  others  by  going  home  to  his 
mother.  The  household  was  his  first  temple :  the 
opening  of  a  wedded  life  engaged  his  first  sympathy, 
and  the  promotion  of  social  and  domestic  happiness 
was  the  inspiration  of  his  first  miracle.  We  are  espe- 
cially struck  with  his  direct  production  of  enjoyment. 
In  marked  contrast  with  the  spirit  of  many  of  the 
reigning  moral  philosophers,  who  despised  pleasure, 
Christ  sought  it  as  a  thing  essentially  good.  Recog- 
nizing the  truth  that  goodness  and  virtue  are  the 
sources  of  continuous  happiness,  Jesus  taught  that 
gladness  is  one  of  the  factors  of  virtue,  and  none  the 
less  so  because  sorrow  is  another,  each  of  them  play- 
ing around  the  forms  and  events  of  practical  life  as  do 
light  and  shadow  in  a  picture.  Far  more  important 
than  we  are  apt  to  consider  among  the  secondary  in- 
fluences which  have  maintained  Christianity  itself  in 
this  world,  in  spite  of  the  corruption  of  its  doctrines 
and  the  horrible  cruelty  of  its  advocates,  has  been  its 
subtile  and  indestructible  sympathy  both  with  sufier- 
ing  and  with  joy.  It  sounds  the  depths  of  the  one,  and 
rises  to  the  height  of  the  other.  Its  power  has  never 
lain  in  its  intellectual  elements,  but  in  its  command  of 
that  nature  which  lies  back  of  all  j^hilosophy  or  volun- 
tary activity.  It  breathes  the  breath  of  the  Almighty 
upon  the  elements  of  the  soul,  and  again  order  and  life 
spring  from  darkness  and  chaos. 

Through  the  household,  as  through  a  gate,  Jesus  en- 
tered upon  his  ministry  of  love.  Ever  since,  the  Chris- 
tian home  has  been  the  refuo-e  of  true  relisrion.  Here 
it  has  had  its  purest  altars,  its  best  teachers,  and  a  life 


THE  HOUSEHOLD   GATE.  195 

of  self-denying  love  in  all  gladness,  which  is  consti- 
tuted a  perpetual  memorial  of  the  nourishing  love  of 
God,  and  a  symhol  of  the  great  mystery  of  sacrifice  by 
which  love  perpetually  lays  down  its  life  for  others. 
The  religion  of  the  Synagogue,  of  the  Temple,  and  of 
the  Church  would  have  perished  long  ago  but  for  the 
ministry  of  the  household.  It  was  fit  that  a  ministry 
of  love  should  begin  at  home.  It  was  fit,  too,  that  love 
should  develop  joy.  Joyful  love  inspires  self-denial, 
and  keeps  sorrow  wholesome.  Love  civilizes  conscience, 
refines  the  passions,  and  restrains  them.  The  bright 
and  joyful  opening  of  Christ's  ministry  has  been  gen- 
erally lost  sight  of  The  darkness  of  the  last  great 
tragedy  has  thrown  back  its  shadow  upon  the  morning 
hour  of  his  life.  His  course  was  rounded  out,  like  a 
perfect  day.  It  began  with  the  calmness  and  dewiness 
of  a  morning,  it  came  to  its  noon  with  fervor  nnd 
labor,  it  ended  in  twilight  and  darkness,  but  rose  again 
without  cloud,  unsetting  and  immortal. 

For  two  years  Jesus  pursued  his  ministry  in  his  own 
Galilee,  among  scenes  fiimiliar  to  his  childhood,  every- 
where performing  the  most  joyful  work  which  is  pos- 
sible to  this  world,  —  that  of  bringing  men  out  of 
trouble,  of  inspiring  hunger  for  truth  and  righteous- 
ness, of  cheering  the  hopeless  and  desj)onding,  be- 
sides works  of  mercy,  almost  without  number,  directed 
to  the  relief  of  the  physical  condition  of  the  poor  and 
neglected. 

The  few  disciples  who  had  accompanied  Jesus,  and 
were  with  him  at  the  marriage,  were  drawn  to  him  by 
that  miracle  with  renewed  admiration.  The  bands  that 
at  first  held  them  to  their  Master  must  have  been  slight. 
Being  rude,  unlettered  men,   accustomed    to   live   by 


196  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

their  senses  only,  they  were  not  jQi  quahfied  to  go 
without  important  external  adjuvants.  As  there  was 
no  organization,  no  school  or  party,  no  separate  religious 
forms,  but  only  this  one  peasant  prophet,  lately  a  me- 
chanic, whose  words  and  bearing  had  greatly  fascinated 
them,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  they  would  soon  de- 
spond and  doubt  if  something  tangible  were  not  given 
them ;  and  this  miracle  answered  their  need.  The  effect 
produced  on  their  minds  was  thought  worthy  of  record : 
"  And  his  disciples  believed  on  him."  Of  all  the  re- 
maining crowd  of  guests,  of  the  host  and  his  household, 
of  the  bridal  pair  and  their  gay  companions,  nothing 
is  said.  Probably  the  miracle  was  the  wonder  of  the 
hour,  and  then  passed  with  the  compliments  and  con- 
gratulations of  the  occasion  into  the  happy  haze  of 
iiiemory,  in  which  particulars  are  lost,  and  only  a  pleas- 
ing mist  overhangs  the  too  soon  receding  past. 

But  it  seems  certain  that  all  of  the  immediate 
household  of  Jesus  were  brought  for  a  time  under 
his  influence.  For  when,  soon  after  these  events,  he 
went  down  to  Capernaum,  upon  the  northwestern  coast 
of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  all  went  with  him^ — "he,  and 
his  mother,  and  his  brethren,  and  his  disciples."  (John 
ii.  12.)  Nothing  is  disclosed  of  the  object  of  this 
visit,  or  of  his  occupation  while  there.  It  is  not 
improbable,  though  it  is  but  a  supposition,  that  he 
had  formerly  plied  his  trade  in  Capernaum,  while 
he  was  yet  living  by  manual  labor.  After  he  was 
rejected  and  treated  with  brutal  ignominy  by  his 
own  townsmen  of  Nazareth,  he  made  Capernaum  his 
home.  It  is  probable  that  his  mother,  sister,  and 
brethren  removed  thither,  and  had  there  a  house  to 
which  Jesus  resorted  as  to  a  home  when  he  was  in 


THE  HOUSEHOLD   GATE.  197 

Capernaum.^  It  is  believed  that  it  was  a  city  of  con- 
siderable population  and  importance.  It  was  always 
called  a  "  city/'  had  its  synagogue,  in  which  Jesus  often 
taught,  was  a  Roman  garrison  town  and  a  customs  sta- 
tion. It  is  probable  that  it  was  on  the  lake  shore,  near 
the  city,  that  Jesus  saw  and  called  Simon  Peter  and  his 
brother  Andrew,  while  they  were  "mending  their  nets." 
Matthew — who  resided  there,  was  a  publican,  and  was 
summoned  by  the  Lord  from  this  odious  occupation  to 
discipleship  —  says,  with  perhaps  a  little  pride,  speak- 
ing of  Capernaum :  "  And  he  entered  into  a  ship,  and 
passed  over,  and  came  into  Jiis  own  cityT  Here  too  he 
healed  the  demoniac  (Mark  i.  21-28),  cured  the  cen- 
turion's servant  (Luke  vii.  1),  the  paralytic  (Mark  ii.  3), 
and  the  man  with  an  unclean  devil  (Mark  i.  23,  Luke 
iv.  33),  and  raised  Jairus's  daughter  (Mark  v.  22).  It 
was  here  that  the  nobleman's  son  lay  when  in  Cana 
the  healing  word  went  forth  which  restored  him.  It 
was  at  Capernaum  that,  when  tribute  was  demanded 
of  him,  he  sent  Peter  to  find  in  a  fish's  mouth  the  piece 
of  money  required  (Matt.  xvii.  24).  Here  he  healed 
Peter's  wife's  mother,  who  "lay  sick  of  a  fever" ;  and 
Tristram,  in  arguing  for  the  site  of  Capernamn  at  the 
"Round  Fountain,"  remarks  that  fevers  are  prevalent 
there  to  this  day.  It  was  in  or  near  this  city  that 
many  of  our  Lord's  most  striking  parables  were  ut- 
tered,—  "the  sower,"  "the  tares,"  "the  goodly  pearls," 
"  the  net  cast  into  the  sea,"  and,  notably,  "  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount."  It  was  in  Capernaum  that  he  dis- 
coursed on   fasting  (Matt.  ix.  10),  and   exposed   the 

^  Grove  says,  in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  that  the  phrase  in  Mark  ii.  1, 
"  in  the  house,"  has  in  the  Greek  the  force  of  "  at  home."  So,  in  modern 
languages,  the  French  a  la  maison,  the  German  zu  Hause,  the  Italian  alia 
casa,  etc. 


198  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

frivolous  customs  and  vain  traditions  of  the  Pharisees 
(Matt.  XV.  1,  etc.).  Here  also  occurred  the  remarkable 
discussion  recorded  by  John  only  (John  vi.  22-71), 
and  the  discourse  upon  humility,  with  a  "little  child" 
for  the  text  (Mark  ix.  33-50). 

Jerusalem  is  more  intimately  associated  with  the 
solemn  close  of  Christ's  hfe,  but  no  place  seems  to 
have  had  so  much  of  his  time,  discourse,  and  mira- 
cles as  Capernaum.  And  yet  nowhere  was  he  less 
successful  in  winning  the  people  to  a  S23iritual  life, 
or  even  to  any  considerable  attention,  save  the  tran- 
sient enthusiasm  excited  by  a  miracle.  The  intense 
cry  of  sorrow  uttered  by  Jesus  over  Jerusalem  has  its 
counterpart  in  his  righteous  indignation  over  the  city 
by  the  sea :  "  And  thou,  Capernaum,  which  art  ex- 
alted unto  heaven,  shalt  be  brought  down  to  hell ;  for 
if  the  mighty  works  which  have  been  done  in  thee  had 
been  done  in  Sodom,  it  would  have   remained  until 

this  day It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land 

of  Sodom,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  thee." 
(Matt.  xi.  23,  24.)  Even  if  Jesus  wrought  miracles  at 
this  first  visit  to  Capernaum,  immediately  after  the 
wedding  scene  at  Cana,  no  record  or  notice  of  them 
appears  in  the  narrative,  except  that,  afterward,  when 
he  was  in  Nazareth,  he  heard,  doubtless,  the  whisper- 
mgs  and  taunts  of  his  impudent  townsmen,  and  re- 
plied :  "  Ye  will  surely  say  unto  me  this  proverb, 
Physician,  heal  thyself:  whatsoever  we  have  heard 
done  in  Capernaum  do  also  here  in  thy  country."  We 
may  infer,  then,  that  the  whole  country  was  full  of 
the  rumor  of  his  miracles  during  his  brief  stay  on  this 
his  earliest  visit  to  Capernaum. 

Although   the   woes   denounced   against   "his  own 


T3E  HOUSEHOLD  GATE.  199 

city"  were  designed  to  reach  its  citizens  rather  than 
the  streets  and  dwelhngs  of  the  city  itself,  yet  they 
seem  to  have  overflowed  and  fallen  with  crushing 
weight  upon  the  very  stones  of  the  town.  The  plain 
of  Genesareth  and  the  Sea  of  Galilee  are  still  there, 
as  when  Christ  made  them  familiar  by  his  daily  foot- 
steps along  their  border.  But  the  cities,  —  they  are 
utterly  j^erished !  Among  several  heaps  of  shapeless 
stones  upon  the  northeast  coast  of  the  Sea  of  Gahlee, 
for  hundreds  of  years,  geographers  and  antiquaries 
have  groped  and  dug  in  vain.  Which  was  Bethesda, 
which  Chorazin  or  Capernaum,  no  one  can  tell  to  this 
day.  Not  Sodom,  under  the  waters  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
is  more  lost  to  sight  than  the  guilty  cities  of  that  other 
plain,  Genesareth. 

"And  they  continued  there  not  many  days."  The 
Passover  being  at  hand,  Jesus  went  to  Jerusalem,  and 
there  next  we  must  see  him  and  hear  his  voice. 


200  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS.  THE  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE   FIRST   JUDiEAN   MINISTRY. 

Twelve  tribes  settled  Palestine  and  a  narrow  strip 
of  territory  east  of  the  river  Jordan.  The  tribid  spirit 
was  strong.  Had  there  been  no  j)rovision  for  keeping 
up  a  common  national  Hfe,  the  Israelites  would  have 
been  liable  to  all  the  evils  of  a  narrow  and  obstinate 
provincial  spirit.  There  were  neither  schools  to  pro- 
mote intellio-ence  nor  books  to  feed  it.  Modern  na- 
tions,  through  the  newspapers  and  swift  tracts,  keep 
their  people  conversant  with  the  same  ideas  at  the 
same  time.  Every  week  sees  the  millions  of  this  con- 
tinent thinkino-  and  talkino;  of  the  same  events,  and 
discussing  the  same  policies  or  interests.  But  no  such 
provision  for  a  common  popular  education  was  pos- 
sible in  Palestine. 

The  same  result,  however,  was  sought  by  the  great 
Lawgiver  of  the  Desert  by  means  of  a  circulation  of 
the  people  themselves.  Three  times  in  each  year 
every  male  inhabitant  of  the  land  who  was  not  legally 
impure,  or  hindered  by  infirmity  or  sickness,  was  com- 
manded to  appear  in  Jerusalem,  and  for  a  week  to 
engage  in  the  solemn  or  joyful  services  of  the  Tem- 
ple. The  great  occasions  were  the  Passover,  the 
Pentecost,  and  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  the  first  and  last  of  these  were  borrowed 
from  celebrations  already  existing  among  other  nations 


THE  FIRST  JUD^AN  MINISTRY.  201 

of  antiquity,  and  primarily  had  reference  to  the  course 
of  nature.  The  seasons  of  seed-sowing  and  harvesting 
would  naturally  furnish  points  for  religious  and  social 
festivals.  We  still  retain  a  vestige  of  these  festivals 
in  the  melancholy  Fast-day  of  New  England  and  in  the 
Thanksgiving-day  of  the  nation ;  so  that  these  simple 
primitive  observances  of  the  vernal  and  autumnal  posi- 
tions of  the  sun  seem  likely  to  outlive  all  more  elab- 
orate institutions.  But  if  Moses  borrowed  festivals 
already  in  vogue,  it  is  certain  that  he  gave  new  asso- 
ciations to  them  by  making  them  commemorate  cer- 
tain great  events  in  the  history  of  the  Israelites. 

The  feast  of  the  Passover  was  kept  in  remembrance 
of  the  safety  of  the  Jews  on  that  awful  night  when 
Jehovah  smote  the  first-born  of  every  family  in  Egypt, 
but  passed  over  the  dwellings  of  his  own  people,  and 
forbade  the  angel  of  death  to  strike  any  of  their 
households.  The  event  itself  marked  an  epoch  in  Jew- 
ish history.  The  secondary  benefits  of  its  celebration, 
however,  were  primary  in  moral  importance.  To  be 
taken  away  from  home  and  sordid,  cares ;  to  be  thrown 
into  a  mighty  stream  of  pilgrims  that  moved  on  from 
every  quarter  to  Jerusalem;  to  see  one's  own  country- 
men from  every  part  of  Palestine,  and  Avitli  them  to 
offer  the  same  sacrifices,  in  the  same  place,  by  a 
common  ministration ;  to  utter  the  same  psalms,  and 
mingle  in  the  same  festivities,  —  could  not  but  pro- 
duce a  civilizing  influence  far  stronger  than  would  re- 
sult from  such  a  course  in  modern  times,  when  society 
has  so  much  better  means  of  educating  its  people. 

It  was  not  far  from  the  time  of  the  Passover  that 
Jesus  went  to  Capernaum,  and  his  stay  there  was  ap- 
parently shortened  by  his  desire  to  be  in  Jerusalem 


202  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

at  this  solemn  festival.  Already  lie  beheld  among  his 
countrymen  joreparations  for  the  journey.  Pilgrims 
were  passing  through  Capernaum.  The  great  road 
along  the  western  shore  of  the  Lake  of  Genesareth 
was  filled  with  groups  of  men  going  toward  Jerusalem. 
Probably  Jesus  joined  himself  to  the  company;  nor  can 
any  one  who  has  noticed  his  cheerful  and  affectionate 
disjDOsition  doubt  that  he  exerted  upon  his  chance  com- 
panions that  winning  influence  which  so  generally 
brought  men  about  him  in  admiring  familiarity. 

K  he  pursued  the  route  east  of  the  Jordan,  crossing 
again  near  the  scene  of  his  baptism,  and  ascending  by 
tKe  way  of  Jericho  and  Bethany,  he  approached  Jeru- 
salem from  the  east.  From  this  quarter  Jerusalem 
breaks  upon  the  eye  with  a  beauty  which  it  has  not 
when  seen  from  any  other  direction.  At  this  time, 
too,  he  would  behold  swarming  with  people,  not  the 
city  only,  but  all  its  neighborhood.  Although  it  was 
the  custom  of  all  jDious  Jews  to  entertain  their  country- 
men at  the  great  feasts,  yet  no  city  could  hold  the 
numbers.  The  fields  were  white  with  tents.  The  hills 
round  about  were  covered  as  with  an  encamped  army. 
Josephus  says  that  at  the  Passover  A.  d.  65,  there  were 
three  million  Jews  in  attendance,  and  that  in  the  reign 
of  Nero  there  were  on  one  occasion  two  million  seven 
himdred  thousand ;  and  even  greater  numbers  have 
been  recorded.  But  if  the  half  of  these  were  present, 
it  is  plain  that  the  whole  region  around  Jerusalem, 
together  with  near  villages,  must  have  been  over  full. 

Eight  before  him,  as  he  came  over  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  shone  forth  the  Temple,  whose  foundations  rose 
sheer  from  the  precipitous  rocks  on  the  eastern  side 
of  Jerusalem,  and  whose  white  marble  summits  gUt- 


THE  FIRST  JUD^AN  MINISTRY.  203 

tered  in  the   sun  higher  than  the  highest  objects  in 
the  city  itself. 

We  should  dismiss  from  our  minds  all  preconcep- 
tions of  the  appearance  of  the  renowned  Temple, 
whether  based  upon  classic  temples  or  upon  modern 
cathedrals  or  churches.  It  resembled  none  of  them, 
but  stood  by  itself,  without  parallel  or  likeness  either 
in  structure  or  method,  as  it  certainly  stood  alone 
among  all  temples  in  its  wonderful  uses.  It  was 
not  so  much  a  building  as  a  system  of  structures ;  one 
quadrangle  within  another,  the  second  standing  upon 
higher  ground  than  the  outermost,  and  the  Temple 
proper  upon  a  position  highest  of  all,  and  forming  the 
architectural  climax  of  beauty,  as  it  certainly  stood 
highest  in  moral  sacredness.  The  TemjDle  of  Solomon 
was  originally  built  upon  the  rocky  heights  on  the  east 
side  of  Jerusalem,  and  was  separated  from  the  city  by  a 
deep  ravine.  The  heights  not  affording  sufficient  room 
for  all  the  outbuildings,  the  royal  architect  built  up 
a  wall  from  the  valley  below  and  filled  in  the  enclosed 
S]Dace  with  earth.  Other  additions  continued  to  be 
made,  until,  when  Herod  had  finished  the  last  Temple, 
—  that  one  which  shone  out  upon  Jesus  and  the  pil- 
grims coming  over  the  Mount  of  Olives,  —  the  whole 
space,  including  the  tower  of  Antonia,  occupied  about 
nineteen  acres.  The  Temple,  then,  was  not  a  single 
building,  like  the  Grecian  temples  or  like  modern 
cathedrals,  but  a  system  of  concentric  enclosures  or 
courts,  —  a  kind  of  sacerdotal  citadel,  of  which  the 
Temple  j^roper,  though  the  most  splendid  part  of  it, 
and  lifted  high  above  all  the  rest,  was  in  space  and 
bulk  but  a  small  part.  In  approaching  the  sacred 
mount,  the  Jew  first  entered  the  outer  court,  called 


204  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

the  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  not  because  it  was  set  apart 
for  them,  but  because  Gentiles,  rigorously  excluded 
from  every  other  portion  of  the  Temple  enclosures, 
were  permitted,  with  all  others,  to  enter  there.  This 
outer  quadrangle,  taken  separately  from  the  residue 
of  the  Temple  system,  was  remarkable  for  its  magni- 
tude, its  magnificence,  and  the  variety  of  its  uses. 
Although  its  walls  were  elevated,  yet,  standing  upon 
a  lower  level,  they  did  not  hide  the  interior  courts, 
with  their  walls,  gates,  and  adornments.  On  the  in- 
ner side  of  the  walls  of  this  outer  court  extended 
porticos  or  cloisters  with  double  rows  of  white  marble 
Corinthian  columns.  The  ceiling  was  flat,  finished 
with  cedar,  and  nearly  forty  feet  in  height  above  the 
floor.  But  these  cloisters  were  quite  eclipsed  by  the 
magnificence  of  the  Stoa  Basilica,  or  Royal  Porch,  on 
the  south  side.  It  consisted  of  a  nave  and  two  aisles, 
six  hundred  feet  in  length,  formed  by  four  rows  of 
white  marble  columns,  forty  columns  in  each  row. 
The  breadth  of  the  central  space  was  forty-five  feet, 
and  its  height  one  hundred.  The  side  spaces  were 
thirty  feet  wide  and  fifty  in  height.  This  impressive 
building  was  unlike  any  other,  in  that  it  was  wholly 
open  on  the  side  toward  the  Temple ;  it  was  connected 
with  the  city  and  the  king's  palace  by  a  bridge  thrown 
across  the  ravine.  This  vast  arcade  was  a  grand  resort 
for  all  persons  of  leisure  who  repaired  to  the  Temple, 
a  kind  of  ecclesiastical  Exchano-e,  somewhat  analoo:ous 
to  the  Grecian  Agora  or  the  Roman  Forum ;  a  place 
of  general  resort  for  public,  literary,  or  professional 
business.  Some  parts  of  it  were  appropriated  to  syna- 
gogical  purposes.  It  was  here  that  Jesus  was  accus- 
tomed to  teach  the  people  and  to  hold  discourse  with 


NORTH  CLOISTER 


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COURT  OF   TME    GENTILES 


» z 


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n    U   B'H  H^B  lillBtJiaH'BBO   0"d  H'P'B'B'B'B  P  fl'lfl 'b'H'B 'BnB^B"'sH^'IBn:B'B 


SOUTH, 

PLAN   AND    SECTION    OF   THE   TEMPLE. 


THE  FIRST  JUD^AN  MINISTRY.  205 

the  Scribes  and  Pharisees ;  and  here,  too,  the  early 
Christians,  who  did  not  consider  themselves  as  broken 
off  from  the  Jewish  Church  or  debarred  from  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  Temple,  used  to  assemble 
for  conversation  and  worship. 

Although  the  cathedral-like  aisles  of  Herod's  Stoa 
Basilica,  on  the  south  side,  were  the  most  magnificent 
part  of  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  yet  on  all  its  sides 
stood  spacious  colonnades  or  cloisters,  and  next  within 
was  an  open  court  paved  with  stones  of  various  colors. 
Still  farther  inside  of  this  open  court  one  came  to  a 
low  marble  partition,  beautifully  carved,  and  bearing 
the  warning,  in  several  languages,  that  it  was  death 
for  any  Gentile  to  pass  beyond  it,  Paul  was  accused 
of  having  taken  Greeks  beyond  it  (Acts  xxi.  28).  By 
bearing  in  mind  this  screen,  we  shall  understand  the 
force  and  beauty  of  Paul's  argument  that  Christ  had 
"broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition  between 
us."i 

A  few  yards  beyond  this  screen  of  exclusion,  one 
ascended  by  a  series  of  steps  to  the  next  enclosure  or 

*  "  But  now,  in  Christ  Jesus,  ye,  who  sometimes  were  far  off,  are  made  nigh 
by  the  blood  of  Christ.  For  he  is  our  peace,  who  hath  made  both  one,  and 
hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition  between  us ;  having  abol- 
ished in  his  flesh  the  enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments  contained  in 
ordinances :  for  to  make  in  himself  of  twain  one  new  man,  so  making  peace ; 
and  that  he  might  reconcile  both  unto  God  in  one  body  by  the  cross,  having 
slain  the  enmity  thereby :  and  came  and  preached  peace  to  you  which  were 
afar  off  and  to  them  that  were  nigh.  For  through  him  we  both  have  access 
by  one  Spirit  unto  the  Father.  Now  therefore  ye  are  no  more  strangers 
and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of 
God ;  and  are  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus 
Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone ;  in  whom  all  the  building,  fitly 
framed  together,  groweth  unto  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord  :  in  whom  ye 
also  are  builded  together,  for  an  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit." 
(Eph.  ii.  13-22.) 


206  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

quadrangle,  which  was  twenty-two  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles.  This  court  was  again 
subdivided  into  the  Court  of  the  Israehtes  and  the 
Court  of  the  Women.  The  Temple  stood  in  still  an- 
other and  a  higher  portion  of  this  court,  and  was 
approached  through  a  gate  upon  which  had  been 
lavished  every  element  of  architectural  beauty ;  and 
it  was  this  gate,  probably,  which  was  called  Beautiful 
(Acts  iii.  2).  The  walls  and  the  gateways  were  so  built 
as  to  furnish  numerous  ajoartments  for  the  officers  of 
the  Temple,  for  the  priests  and  their  retmue.  In  the 
Court  of  the  Israelites  and  the  Court  of  the  Women 
were  the  various  tables  and  utensils  in  use  for  sacri- 
ficial purposes.  AVithin  the  Gate  Beautiful  stood  the 
altar,  and  beyond  that  the  Temple  proper,  in  the  form 
of  an  inverted  T  (i),  comprising  a  portico,  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  the  Holy  of  Holies.  The  main  portions 
of  the  Temple,  it  is  believed,  were  of  the  same 
dimensions  and  upon  the  very  foundations  of  Solo- 
mon's Temple.  But  it  is  supposed  that,  while  the 
internal  space  remained  the  same,  the  external  pro- 
portions were  much  increased,  and  that  the  wings  of 
the  facade  were  extended,  so  that  the  lenofth  of  the 
Temple  and  the  width  of  its  front  or  facade  were  each 
one  hundred  feet. 

A  general  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  the  Temple 
is  indispensable  to  those  who  would  study  either  the 
history  of  Jesus  or  that  of  his  countrpnen.  One  may 
know  far  more  of  Athens,  her  Acropolis  left  out,  of 
Rome  without  its  Forum  or  Capitol,  than  of  Jerusalem 
without  its  Temple.  Without  that  the  city  would 
have  hardly  any  significance  left.  The  Temple  was  at 
once  the  brain  and  the  heart  of  the  nation.     It  was 


THE  FIRST  JUD.EAN  SIINISTRY.  207 

the  university  and  chief  house  of  the  learned  men  and 
priests,  and  gave  to  Palestine  a  centre  of  orthodoxy. 
Through  the  Temple  circulated  the  whole  people  in  its 
great  annual  visitations,  and  then,  like  blood  that  has 
been  aerated,  it  carried  back  new  life  to  every  ex- 
tremity of  the  land. 

With  what  feelings  Jesus  looked  upon  the  Temple 
as  he  drew  near  to  Jerusalem  can  only  be  surmised. 
It  might  seem  as  though  his  Divine  soul  would  per- 
ceive little  of  use  in  the  cumbrous  ritual  which  he 
had  come  to  abrogate.  As  he  looked  over  from  the 
Mount  of  Olives  upon  the  encircling  walls  and  battle- 
ments, the  ascending  rows  of  towers,  arches,  and  gate- 
ways, and  the  pure  wdiite  Temple  glittering  high  in 
the  air  above  all,  could  he  fail  to  contrast  the  outward 
beauty  with  the  interior  desecration  ?  But  it  does  not 
follow  on  that  account  that  he  felt  little  interest.  On 
another  occasion,  when  lie  looked  from  the  same  jDlace 
over  upon  the  whole  city  of  Jerusalem,  whose  long 
and  wearisome  criminal  history  rose  before  his  mind, 
he  did  not  any  the  less  experience  a  profound  affection 
for  the  city,  even  while  pronouncing  its  doom.  In  like 
manner  he  might  have  looked  upon  the  Temple,  and, 
though  conscious  of  its  gross  unspirituality,  he  might 
have  yet  experienced  a  profound  sympathy  for  it,  con- 
sidered in  its  whole  past  history,  in  its  intent,  and  as 
the  focus  to  which  so  many  noble  hearts  had  through 
ages  converged.  At  any  rate,  he  is  soon  found  with- 
in it,  and  his  first  recorded  act  of  authority  took  place 
in  the  Temple. 

It  seems  to  us  very  strange  that  money-brokers,  cattle, 
sheep,  and  doves  should  be  found  in  the  Temple,  and 
that  trafficking  should  go  on  in  that  sacred  place,  if  by 


208  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,  THE   CHRIST. 

this  tenn  we  bring  before  our  minds  the  true  and  in- 
nermost TemjDle.  But  these  transactions  took  place 
in  the  lower  and  outer  court,  and  probably  at  the 
western  j^ortion  of  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles. 

Thousands  of  Jews  must  have  come  every  year  to 
Jerusalem  without  being  in  circumstances  to  bring 
with  them  the  appropriate  offerings.  For  their  con- 
venience, doves,  sheep,  and  oxen  were  provided  and 
held  for  sale,  at  first,  j^robably,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Temple  enclosure.  Little  by  little  they  intruded  upon 
the  space  within,  until  they  made  it  their  head-quar- 
ters without  rebuke. 

This  custom  was  less  repulsive,  probably,  to  the  Jews 
than  it  would  be  to  us,  because  the  whole  Temple 
was  used  in  a  manner  that  would  utterly  shock  the 
sensibility  of  men  educated  in  Christian  churches. 
Thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  sheep,  every 
Passover,  as  well  as  at  every  Pentecost  and  every  Feast 
of  Tabernacles,  were  borne  into  the  Temple  and  car- 
ried or  driven  into  the  Court  of  the  Priests,  and  there 
slain,  the  blood  being  caught  by  the  jDriests  in  bowls 
and  dashed  upon  the  altar.  Hour  after  hour,  the  whole 
day  long,  the  spectacle  continued.  The  secret  chan- 
nels down  through  the  rocks,  toward  the  king's  gar- 
den, gurgled  with  blood.  It  was  blood,  blood,  blood ; 
nor  can  a  modern  man  imagine  how  it  could  be 
other  than  intolerably  shocking.  "We  cannot  con- 
ceive how  even  familiarity  would  abate  the  repulsive- 
ness  of  an  altar  incessantly  flowing  with  blood,  and  of 
pavements  and  walls  dripping  with  the  same. 

But  the  tolerant  custom  of  herding  cattle  and  sheep 
in  the  outer  court  of  the  Temple,  the  place  where  the 
people    gathered   and   talked,   where    discussions  and 


THE  FIRST  JUD^AN  SIINISTRY.  209 

discourses  went  on,  had  doubtless  become  so  much 
abused  that  portions  of  the  court  had  become  ahnost 
a  corral,  or  cattle -yard. 

In  this  court,  too,  brokers  had  congregated  to  ex- 
change foreign  coin  for  the  shekel  of  the  sanctuary,  in 
which  only  could  the  Jew  pay  the  Temple  tax.  The 
images  on  imperial  coins  savored  of  idolatry.  The 
devout  Jew,  drawing  near  to  the  Temple,  filled  with 
pious  associations,  would  find  his  meditations  rudely 
broken  in  upon  by  lowing  herds  and  bleating  flocks,  by 
the  haggling  of  money-changers  and  the  chink  of  their 
coin.  If,  as  is  suspected,  the  traffic  was  winked  at  by 
the  Temple  familiars  because  they  were  participants  of 
the  profits,  it  was  aU  the  more  improper.  Many  deco- 
rous Jews  would  be  scandahzed  at  the  growing  evil, 
but  what  could  they  do  ? 

On  the  first  da}^  of  the  Passover,  or  perhaps  on  the 
day  before,  when  the  herds  of  cattle  were  likely  to  be 
most  in  the  way,  the  nuisance  was  suddenly  abated. 
Without  parley  or  leave  asked,  Jesus  drove  out  the 
motley  herd.  It  must  have  been  one  of  those  supreme 
moments,  which  came  so  often  to  him  afterwards,  when 
no  one  could  stand  before  his  gaze.  Go  hence !  and 
with  a  whip  of  small  cords  he  drove  out  the  lowing 
and  bleating  creatures,  and  their  owners  hastened 
after  them;  no  one  seemed  to  resist  him.  He  over- 
threw the  money-changers'  tables,  and  sent  the  coin 
ringing  over  the  marble  pavements.  "Take  these 
things  hence !  Make  not  my  Father's  house  an  house 
of  merchandise !  " 

The  only  comment  made  by  the  Evangelist  John  is 
in  these  words :  "  And  his  disciples  remembered  that 
it  was  written,  The  zeal  of  thy  house  hath  eaten  me 

14 


210  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

up."  But  why  should  this  passage  have  occurred  to 
them,  unless  his  manner  had  been  fuU  of  energy,  and 
his  voice  so  terrible  that  the  avaricious  hucksters, 
though  assailed  in  privileges  permitted  by  the  Temple 
officers,  dared  not  resist?  The  fact  itself,  and  the  com- 
mentary which  the  Evangelist  adds,  make  it  plain  that 
there  was  in  the  countenance  of  Jesus,  and  in  his  man- 
ner, that  which  men  did  not  choose  to  confront. 

Nothing  can  better  show  how  superior  Christ  was 
to  the  narrow  prejudices  of  the  Jews  against  all  for- 
eign people.  A  heathen  was  an  abomination.  The 
only  part  of  the  Temple  to  which  the  Gentile  could 
approach  was  this  court.  Jews  did  not  care  that  cat- 
tle and  money-brokers  turned  the  court  into  a  vast 
and  noisy  bazaar  or  market ;  they  could  pass  on,  and 
in  the  higher  interior  courts  be  free  from  all  molesta- 
tion. It  was  only  the  Gentile  that  suffered  from  this 
perversion  of  the  great  outer  court  of  the  Temple. 
The  cleansing  of  this  place  was  not  only  an  act  of  hu- 
manity to  the  Gentiles,  but  may  be  regarded  as  the 
sign  and  precursor  of  the  mercy  of  Christ  to  the  whole 
world,  Jew  or  Gentile. 

Even  if  the  rulers  of  the  Temple  were  not  spectators 
of  this  scene,  the  story  must  have  soon  come  to  their 
ears.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  anger  excited. 
Among  the  Jews  there  was  singular  toleration  for 
any  one  upon  whom  came  "the  Spirit  of  the  Lord," 
Besides,  deeper  than  every  other  feeling,  stronger 
even  than  avarice,  ambition,  and  pride,  or  perhaps  as 
the  fullest  expression  of  them  all,  was  the  longing  for 
that  Messiah  who  was  to  end  their  national  degrada- 
tion, exalt  them  to  supremacy,  and  avenge  upon  the 
heathen  double  for  all  their  sufferings.     In  spite  of  all 


THE  FIRST  JUD^AN  MINISTRY.  211 

their  worlclliness,  or  rather  a  remarkable  feature  of  it, 
was  this  undying  watchfuhiess  for  the  Divine  inter- 
position in  their  behalf  And  when  any  person  of 
remarkable  gifts  appeared,  as  in  the  case  of  John  the 
Baptist,  and  in  the  earlier  periods  of  Jesus's  ministry, 
all  eyes  were  turned  upon  him,  and  in  anxious  sus- 
pense they  waited  for  evidence  that  he  was  the  prom- 
ised Deliverer.  There  is  something  inexpressibly  sad 
in  the  sight  of  a  proud  nation  resenting  an  oppression 
which  it  could  not  resist,  and  carrying  an  unextin- 
guished longing,  night  and  day,  for  a  promised  cham- 
pion, who  was,  in  the  sense  expected,  never  to  come. 

It  was  not  in  displeasure,  but  rather  in  eager  ex- 
pectancy, that  the  officers  put  the  question,  "  What 
sign  showest  thou  unto  us,  seeing  thou  doest  such 
things  ?  "  It  was  only  another  form  of  saying,  as  they 
did  afterwards,  "  If  thou  be  the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly." 
Jesus  had  taken  things  into  his  own  hands,  had  re- 
voked the  permission  which  they  had  given  to  the 
traffickers,  and  for  the  moment  he  was  the  one  person 
in  supreme  authority  there.  That  he  was  not  seized, 
ejected  from  the  Temple,  or  even  slain,  shows  that  the 
rulers  hoped  something  from  this  new-comer  who  pos- 
sessed such  power  of  command. 

Jesus  rephed,  "Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three 
days  I  will  raise  it  up."  The  Jews,  taking  his  answer 
literally,  were  stiunbled  at  the  boast  implied.  "  Forty 
and  six  years  was  this  Temple  in  building,  and  wilt 
thou  rear  it  up  in  three  days  ? "  The  Evangelist  John 
adds,  "  But  he  spake  of  the  temple  of  his  body." 

It  is  not  strange  that  he  should  identify  himself  with 
the  Temple,  for  Jesus  bore  the  same  relation  to  the 
new  dispensation  which  the  Temple  did  to  the  old. 


212  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

What  the  visible  altar  and  sanctuary  were  to  ritual 
worship,  that  his  heart  was  to  spiritual  worship.  It 
is  not  the  only  instance  in  which  Christ  suggests  a 
comparison  between  himself  and  the  Temple.  When 
defending  himself  against  the  charge  of  Sabbath- 
breaking,  he  refers  to  the  blamelessness  of  the  priests, 
though  working  on  the  Sabbath  in  the  Temple.  "  But 
I  say  unto  you,  that  in  this  place  is  one  greater  than 
the  Temple."     (Matt.  xii.  6.) 

There  has  been  much  perplexity  among  commen- 
tators at  this  reply,  which  on  its  face  meant  one  thing, 
and  really  meant  another.  But  Jesus  did  not  intend 
to  have  them  penetrate  the  hidden  meaning.  Then 
why  answer  at  all?  The  mood  in  which  the  officers 
evidently  were  would  not  brook  a  defiant  silence.  The 
Jews  were  fanatically  inflammable  in  all  matters  relat- 
ing to  the  Temple.  Without  prudence  or  calculation 
of  the  result,  they  would  throw  themselves  headlong 
upon  Roman  soldiers,  or  uj)on  any  others,  who  seemed 
to  put  contempt  upon  the  holy  place  ;  they  were  like 
hornets,  who,  when  their  nest  is  touched,  dash  with 
fiery  courage  uj)on  the  intruder,  and  that  without 
regard  to  the  certainty  of  their  own  destruction.  The 
answer  of  Jesus,  while  it  could  not  have  seemed  dis- 
respectful, must  have  left  them  in  suspense  as  to 
whether  he  was  boasting,  or  whether  he  was  claim- 
ing Divine  power.  It  had  the  effect  designed,  at  any 
rate.  The  great  liberty  which  Jesus  had  taken  was 
allowed  to  pass  without  rebuke  or  violence,  and  he 
had  avoided  a  public  declaration  of  his  Messiahship, 
which  at  that  period  would  have  been  imprudent, 
whether  the  rulers  accepted  or  rejected  him.  His 
time  had  not  yet  come. 


THE  FIRST  JUDyEAN  MINISTRY.  213 

But  was  this  baffling  reply  such  a  one  as  we 
should  expect  from  a  sincere  and  frank  nature  ?  The 
answer  to  this  question  will  require  us  to  consider 
for  a  moment  the  method  of  discourse  which  Christ 
adopted.  No  one  ever  taught  with  more  transparent 
simplicity  and  directness.  Much  of  his  teaching  reads 
like  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  of  which  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  as  given  by  Matthew,  is  a  good  instance.  At 
times  he  employed  an  argumentative  or  logical  style, 
as  in  the  discussions  with  the  Jews  recorded  by  John. 
He  likewise  taught  by  pictures ;  for  such  are  his  ex- 
quisite little  fables,  as  the  Greeks  would  have  called 
them,  and  which  we  style  parables.  But  Jesus  ex- 
plicitly declared  to  his  disciples,  that,  for  wise  purposes, 
he  often  employed  an  outward  form  to  hide  within  it  a 
meaning  which  they  were  not  yet  jDrepared  to  accept. 
The  outward  form,  therefore,  acted  the  part  of  the 
lobes  of  a  seed.  They  first  preserve  the  germ  till 
planting  time,  and  then  supply  its  food  until  it  has 
roots  of  its  own.  We  hear  Jesus  explicitly  saying 
(Matt.  xiii.  10-16)  that  he  taught  in  unintelligible 
forms. 

But  we  are  to  consider  that  among  the  Orientals, 
and  especially  among  the  Jews,  this  was  considered  as 
the  highest  form  of  instruction.  It  was  the  delight  of 
philosophy  to  express  itself  in  enigmas,  paradoxes,  par- 
ables, and  even  in  riddles.  Friendly  arguments  were 
not  so  much  an  array  of  facts  and  reasonings,  as  the 
proposing  and  the  interpreting  of  dark  sayings.  In 
Proverbs  the  philosopher  is  thus  described:  "A  wise 
man  will  hear,  and  will  increase  learning ;  and  a  man 
of  understanding  shall  attain  unto  wise  counsels  :  to 
miderstand   a   proverb,    and   the    interpretation ; »  the 


214  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

words  of  the  wise,  and  their  dark  sayings."  (Prov.  i. 
6,  6.)  A  "  dark  saying "  was  simply  a  truth  locked 
up  in  a  figure,  hidden  within  a  parable,  in  such  a  way 
as  to  stir  the  imagination  and  provoke  the  reason  to 
search  it  out.  The  real  design  was  not  to  conceal 
the  truth,  but,  by  exciting  curiosity,  to  put  men  upon 
the  search  for  it.  (Ps.  xlix.  4 ;  Dan.  viii.  23.)  Such 
a  method  of  instruction  easily  degenerated  into  a 
mere  contest  of  puzzles  and  riddles.  But  we  see  it 
in  its  noblest  form  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  where, 
though  often  used  with  wonderful  skill  to  foil  the  craft 
and  malice  of  his  antagonists,  it  never  failed  to  carry 
within  it  some  profound  moral  truth. 

The  crucifixion  of  Christ  was  to  be  the  first  step  in 
the  destruction  of  the  Temple.  The  blow  aimed  at 
Christ  would  shatter  the  altar.  All  this  lay  before  the 
mind  of  Jesus.  His  rejDly  was  a  rebound  of  thought 
from  the  physical  and  the  present  to  the  invisible  and 
spiritual.  It  was  meant  neither  as  an  explanation  nor 
as  a  prophecy ;  it  was  rather  a  soliloquy :  "  Destroy 
this  Temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  again." 
Enigmatical  to  them  and  puzzlmg  to  commentators 
ever  since,  it  would  seem  quite  natural  to  one  who 
looked  at  the  spiritual  as  well  as  the  temporal  relations 
of  all  events  and  physical  facts.  He  did  not  mean  to 
speak  definitely,  either  of  his  own  death  or  of  the 
end  of  the  Leviticai  system. 

This  answer  conforms  to  Christ's  habit  of  speaking, 
not  to  the  thing  suggesting,  but  to  the  ulterior  truths 
suo-o-ested.  A  note  beino;  sounded,  he  took  its  octave. 
Witness  the  scene  (John  xii.  20-26)  where  his  disci- 
ples tell  him  that  certain  Greeks  desire  to  see  him. 
He  replies :  "  The  hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  Man 


THE  FIRST  JUD^'EAN  MINISTRY.  215 

should  be  glorified.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  3^ou, 
Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die, 
it  abideth  alone ;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much 
fruit."  There  never  was  a  greater  enthusiasm  for  him 
among  the  whole  community  than  at  that  moment. 
Even  foreigners  were  infected.  When  told  of  this,  he 
answers  not  to  the  outside  fact,  but  to  the  inward 
vision. 

In  this  light,  his  reply  to  the  rulers  in  the  Temple, 
if  obscure  to  them,  conforms  to  his  habits  of  thought 
and  speech.  As  they  understood  his  reply,  it  must 
have  seemed  extravagant.  No  wonder  they  said,  "  For- 
ty and  six  years  was  this  Temple  in  building,  and  wilt 
thou  rear  it  up  in  three  days?"  The  Temple  proper 
had  been  completed  in  a  year  and  a  half  after  it  was 
begun.  But  portions  of  the  courts  and  various  ad- 
juncts had  been  forty-six  years  in  hand,  and,  indeed, 
the  work  was  still  going  on. 

During  this  Passover,  Jesus  became  the  centre  of 
attraction.  He  both  wrought  miracles  and  taught, 
and  no  inconsiderable  number  were  disposed  to  join 
him.  But  he  saw  that  it  was  only  an  outward  ex- 
citement, and  had  no  root  in  moral  conviction.  He 
would  not,  therefore,  draw  them  out,  nor  put  himself 
at  their  head.  There  is  evidence  that  his  ministry 
produced  an  effect  among  the  most  thoughtful  of  the 
Pharisees.  It  was  doubtless  a  matter  of  conference  in 
the  Sanhedrim  and  of  conversation  among  such  Jews 
as  had  deep  spiritual  longings.  Indeed,  as  soon  as  the 
night  extricated  Jesus  from  the  crowd,  and  gave  him 
leisure  for  extended  conversation,  one  of  the  noblest 
among  the  Pharisees,  a  ruler  too,  came  to  him. 

That  one  luckless  phrase,  "  by  night,"  has  sent  down 


216  TUE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

to  US  the  name  of  an  honest  and  courageous  Jew  as 
one  too  tunid  to  come  openly,  and  who  therefore 
sought  to  steal  an  interview  under  the  cover  of  dark- 
ness, so  as  to  avoid  responsibility.  There  is  not  in 
the  history  of  Nicodemus  a  single  fact  to  justify  such 
an  imputation  on  his  moral  courage,  except  the  single 
phrase  that  he  came  "  by  night."  He  appears  but 
three  times  in  the  history,  and  every  one  of  these 
occasions  shows  a  calm,  earnest,  thoughtful  man,  un- 
demonstrative, but  firm  and  courageous. 

Is  it  the  part  of  timidity  that  he,  —  though  an  emi- 
nent man,  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrun,  a  Pharisee, 
with  a  reputation  to  sustain, — after  witnessing  Christ's 
works  and  listening  to  his  teaching,  came  before  all 
others  the  first  to  seek  instruction  ?  The  night  was 
chosen  simply  because  then  Jesus  was  no  longer  amid 
an  excited  multitude.  The  crowd  was  gone.  He  was 
free  for  jDi'otracted  conference.  When  would  a  dis- 
tressed soul,  in  our  day,  seek  advice,  —  when  the 
preacher  was  speaking  in  the  full  congregation,  or 
afterward,  when  he  could  be  found  at  home,  and  at 
leisure  to  consider  a  single  case  ?  Nicodemus  came  in 
the  true  hour  for  converse.  He  came  by  night ;  but 
he  was  the  only  one  of  all  his  fellows  that  came  at  all. 

The  next  scene  in  which  Nicodemus  appears  is  near 
the  close  of  Christ's  ministry.  The  rulers  had  become 
desperate.  His  death  was  resolved  upon.  It  was  now 
only  a  matter  of  hesitation  how  to  compass  it.  In 
full  council  the  Sanhedrim  sat,  waiting  for  Jesus  to 
be  arrested  and  brought  before  them.  The  officers 
brought  word  that  they  were  overawed  by  his  bearing 
and  his  teaching.  The  Pharisees  were  enraged.  They 
inquired  whether  any  of  their  own  party  were  going 


THE  FIRST  JUDjEAN  MINISTRY.  217 

over  to  him.  They  cursed  the  common  people  as 
stupid  and  ignorant,  and  they  reviled  the  delinquent 
officers.  Was  this  the  place  and  time  in  which  a 
timid  man  would  confront  the  wdiole  official  power 
of  his  people  ?  And  yet  one  man  in  that  council 
bravely  spoke  out,  —  "Doth  our  law  judge  any  man 
before  it  hear  him,  and  know  what  he  doeth  ? "  That 
man  was  Nicodemus. 

He  appears  yet  once  more.  It  was  after  the  cruci- 
fixion. All  hope  was  over.  The  disciples  were  over- 
awed, confounded,  and  scattered.  There  was  not  a 
man  left  in  Jerusalem  who  would  now  think  it  ^vw- 
dent  to  identify  himself  with  a  lost  cause;  it  could 
help  nothing  and  would  compromise  the  actor.  Joseph 
of  Arimathea  begged  of  Pilate  the  body  of  Jesus  for 
honorable  bm-ial.  "And  there  came  also  Nicodemus 
(which  at  the  first  came  to  Jesus  by  night),  and 
brought  a  mixture  of  myrrh  and  aloes,  about  an  hun- 
dred pound  weight."  Of  Joseph,  the  Evangelist  John 
says  expressly  that  he  was  "  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  but 
secretly,  for  fear  of  the  Jews."  (John  xix.  38,  39.) 
But  not  an  intimation  of  this  kind  is  made  against 
Nicodemus.  The  phrase  is  only,  "he  that  came  to 
Jesus  by  night " ;  and  again,  "  which  at  the  first  came 
to  Jesus  by  night." 

Just  such  men  as  Peter  and  Nicodemus  we  have 
around  us  now.  The  one  was  eager  and  overflowing, 
the  other  calm  and  undemonstrative.  In  Peter,  im- 
pulse was  strongest;  in  Nicodemus,  reflection.  Peter, 
rash  and  headstrong,  was  confused  by  real  peril ;  Nico- 
demus, cautious  at  the  beginning,  grew  firmer  and 
bolder  as  difficulties  developed  danger. 

This  interview  between  Jesus  and  Nicodemus  is  pro- 


218  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

foundly  interesting  from  the  revelation  which  it  gives 
of  the  character  of  the  better  men  among  the  Pharisees, 
and  also  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  sincere  and 
devout  Jews.  It  is  besides  remarkable  for  the  first 
disclosure  made  of  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  the  new 
life  then  about  to  dawn.  Nicodemus  saluted  Christ  as 
if  he  were  a  Jewish  rabbi,  and  confessed  the  effect 
wrought  upon  his  mind  by  the  sight  of  his  miracles, 
but  asked  no  questions.  Jesus,  striking  at  once  to  the 
heart  of  the  matter,  answered  not  his  words  nor  even 
his  thoughts,  but  his  unconscious  spiritual  needs :  "  Ex- 
cept a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  God."  That  such  a  man  as  Nicodemus  should  take 
this  as  a  literal  physical  re-birth  gives  surprising  evi- 
dence of  the  externality  of  his  religious  knowledge. 
He  had  not  the  faintest  sense  of  the  difference  be- 
tween external  rio;hteousness  and  internal  holiness. 
He  did  not  even  understand  enough  of  spirituality 
to  accept  the  figure  employed  by  Christ ;  and  he 
needed,  like  a  child,  to  have  it  explained  that  not 
a  physical,  but  a  moral,  re-birth  was  meant. 

"  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh  ; 
That  which  is  borx  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit." 

This  is  the  root.  In  these  words  Jesus  gave  the 
fundamental  philosophy  of  religion.  Man  is  born 
into  the  material  world  with  all  those  powers  which 
are  required  for  his  physical  and  social  well-being, 
but  within  him  lie  dormant  the  germs  of  a  Divine 
nature.  These  can  be  developed  only  by  the  Spirit 
of  God;  but  when  evolved  they  change  the  whole 
nature,  give  to  man  a  new  horizon,  new  force,  scope, 
and  vision.  He  will  live  thenceforth  by  a  different 
class   of  faculties.      Before,   he    lived    by   the   forces 


THE  FIRST  JUD^AN  MINISTRY.  219 

which  nature  developed  through  the  senses.  He  was 
mainly  a  physical  being.  Afterwards,  he  will  live 
through  the  forces  developed  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
—  forces  whose  rudiments  existed  before,  but  whose 
growth  and  full  power  demand  the  energy  and  fire  of 
the  Divine  soul.  Like  an  exotic  plant  in  a  temper- 
ate zone,  the  soul  without  God  bears  only  leaves. 
For  blossoms  and  fruit  there  must  be  tropical  heat 
and  light,  that  we  may  "  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God." 

Thus,  in  his  very  first  recorded  conversation,  as 
clearly  as  at  the  end  of  his  ministry,  Jesus  set  forth 
the  new  era  to  which  the  soul  of  man  was  approach- 
ing. The  conversation  as  recorded  has  an  uncon- 
scious dramatic  element.  An  eminent  Pharisee,  whose 
life  has  been  spent  in  attaining  perfection,  and  who, 
in  his  own  opinion,  has  almost  reached  it,  but  has 
not  found  satisfaction  of  his  heart-hunger,  is  told  that 
his  whole  life-work  has  been  in  a  wrong  direction, — 
lie  must  begin  anew.  Like  one  who  has  gone  upon 
a  wrong  road,  he  has  been  carried  by  every  step  away 
from  his  goal.  He  has  sought  moral  perfectness  by 
rigorous  discipline  in  external  things.  He  must  re- 
verse the  process,  and  reinforce  the  soul. 

In  the  order  of  time,  man  develops  from  the  sensu- 
ous towards  the  spiritual.  But  in  the  order  of  power 
and  of  self-government,  that  which  is  last  must  become 
first.  The  spirit  must  be  formed  and  filled  by  the  Di- 
vine soul.  It  is  then  inspired.  A  new  force  is  de- 
veloped. A  conflict  ensues.  The  spirit  striveth  against 
the  flesh,  and  the  flesh  lusteth  against  the  spirit.  But 
the  whole  moral  nature  is  reinvigorated.  It  has  be- 
come open  and  sensitive  to  truths  and  influences  which 
before  it  did  not  perceive  nor  feel. 


220  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

Of  course  the  whole  conversation  of  the  two  is  not 
recorded.  Hours  would  not  suffice,  when  once  the 
soul  had  found  its  Master,  to  bring  him  into  all  the 
dark  and  troubled  places  within,  where  there  had  been 
sorrow  and  trouble  of  soul.  The  stars  still  rose  and 
set;  but  Nicodemus  had  found  his  new  heaven  and 
the  guiding  star  of  his  future  life.  He  marvelled. 
Nor  did  his  wonder  cease  as  his  Master,  step  by  step, 
unfolded  the  new  life  and  the  supremacy  of  the  spirit- 
ual over  the  carnal.  As  Jesus  with  indistinct  lines 
sketched  his  own  history,  his  death,  the  life-giving 
power  of  faith  in  him,  it  may  be  supposed  that  his 
listener  heard  only,  but  did  not  understand. 

We  are  concerned  with  this  earliest  discourse  of 
Jesus,  because  its  philosophy  underlies  the  whole 
question  of  religion.  It  has  two  astonishing  originali- 
ties. Men  may  stop  suddenly  in  a  career  of  evil,  and 
be  born  again.  The  Ethiopian  mai/  change  his  skin, 
and  the  leopard  his  spots !  There  is  a  power  before 
which  even  habit  cannot  stand.  It  also  reveals  that 
a  whole  new  development  of  spiritual  life  is  possible 
to  every  one.  Those  inspirations  which  before  have 
glanced  upon  a  few,  which  have  been  the  privilege  of 
genius,  are  now  to  become  a  free  gift  to  all.  The 
Holy  Ghost  is  to  carry  a  flood  of  light  and  energy  to 
every  soul  that  is  willing. 

A  crisis  had  come  in  the  world's  psychology.  Rea- 
son was  to  receive  a  higher  development,  adding  to 
the  senses  the  power  of  faith.  Faith,  which  is  reason 
inspired  to  intuitions  of  supersensuous  truth,  (not  a 
blind  credulity,  but  a  new  light,  a  higher  reason,  acting 
in  a  sphere  above  matter,)  was  thereafter  to  become 
developed  into  a  stature  and  power  of  which  the  past 
had  given  but  hints  and  glimpses. 


THE  FIRST  JUDJSAN  MINISTRY.  221 

Jesus  remained  in  Juclcea  from  April  to  December, 
or,  as  some  think,  till  January.  Nothing  can  more 
forcibly  show  how  far  the  Gospels  are  from  a  close 
biography  than  the  fact  that  this  period,  at  the  very 
opening  of  his  public  ministry,  is  not  mentioned  by 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  who  do  not  even  give  an 
account  of  this  visit  to  Jerusalem  ;  while  John,  from 
whom  we  derive  all  our  knowledge  of  this  visit, 
leaves  the  next  four  months,  though  the  first  months 
of  the  Saviour's  public  ministry,  without  a  record. 
"After  these  things  came  Jesus  and  his  disciples 
into  the  land  of  Judaea."  But  they  were  already  in 
Jerusalem :  it  is  therefore  evident  that  they  went 
out  of  the  city  into  the  adjacent  parts,  probably  into 
the  northeast  of  Judgea.  But  even  of  that  we  are  un- 
certain. "  And  there  he  tarried  with  them,  and  bap- 
tized." It  is  not  said  ivhere  he  bajDtized.  It  is  added 
that  John  "  was  baj)tizing  in  iEnon,  because  there  was 
much  water  there."  But  where  ^non  was  hardly 
any  two  investigators  agree,  —  whether  it  was  on  the 
Jordan,  or  at  certain  copious  springs,  the  source  of  a 
stream  on  its  western  side.  It  is  not  said  that  Jesus 
was  near  John.  All  is  left  to  conjecture.  It  is  quite 
certain  that  a  period  of  from  four  to  six  months  elapsed 
between  his  leaving  Capernaum  for  the  Passover  at 
Jerusalem  and  his  return  to  Galilee.  Even  of  his 
doings  there  is  no  hint,  except  only  of  his  baptizing ; 
and  this  was  not  performed  by  himself,  but  by  the 
hands  of  his  disciples.  During  these  four  or  five 
months  occurred  the  other  annual  feasts  of  the  Jew- 
ish year,  —  the  Pentecost  and  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles. It  is  scarcely  possible  but  that  Jesus,  being 
near  to  Jerusalem,  and  habitually  observant  of  the 


222  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

national  customs,  was  present  on  these  occasions  in 
Jerusalem.  Yet  no  mention  is  made  of  it.  Nor  is 
it  said  that  he  preached  at  all,  or  taught,  or  wrought 
a  single  miracle  ;  and  yet  it  is  scarcely  supposable 
that,  after  having  entered  on  his  ministry,  he  should 
leave  so  many  months  utterly  blank.  It  has  been  sug- 
gested by  Andrews  that  during  this  period  may  have 
begun  his  acquaintance  with  the  family  of  Lazarus, 
which  afterward  constituted  so  remarkable  a  feature 
of  his  history,  and  was  the  occasion  of  a  miracle  which 
gave  the  last  impulse  to  the  zeal  of  his  opponents, 
leading  to  his  arrest  and  death. 

K  this  reticence  of  the  Evangelists  arises  from  their 
peculiarly  un-literary  and  non-historic  genius,  it  is  not 
unbecoming  to  thg  nature  of  Jesus.  There  was  never 
so  impersonal  a  person  as  he.  Although  to  an  extraor- 
dinary degree  full  of  outward  life  and  action,  yet  there 
was  something  in  the  elevation  of  his  nature  which 
abstracts  our  thoughts  from  the  outward  form  of  his 
life.  As  in  the  presence  of  a  great  picture  we  forget- 
the  canvas,  the  paint,  and  the  brush,  and  think  only 
of  the  events  and  objects  themselves ;  so  Jesus  leaves 
upon  our  minds  the  impression  not  of  the  journeys,  the 
acts,  the  words  even,  but  of  the  temper,  the  nobility 
of  soul,  the  universal  truths  of  his  life  and  teachings. 
He  detaches  himself  from  the  world  in  which  he  lived 
and  through  which  he  acted,  as  the  perfume  of  fra- 
grant vines  abandons  the  flowers  in  which  it  was  dis- 
tilled and  fills  the  air. 

Jesus  was  full  of  a  generous  enthusiasm  for  his 
own  country  and  people.  He  was  occupied  until 
within  two  or  three  years  of  his  death  in  mechanical 
labors  peculiar  to  his  place  and  time.     He  so  shaped 


THE  FIRST  JUD^AN  MINISTRY.  223 

his  teachings  as  to  include  in  them  all  the  truths 
then  unfolded  among  his  countrymen,  and  he  identi- 
fied himself  with  the  common  people  in  the  use  of 
their  customs,  pursuits,  domestic  habits,  and  language  ; 
so  that  he  was  of  all  men  a  typical  Jew,  a  Hebrew 
of  the  Hebrews.  And  yet  his  life,  written  by  four 
Evangelists,  themselves  Hebrews,  produces  the  effect, 
not  of  nationality,  but  of  universality. 

We  do  not  think  of  him  as  a  Jew,  but  as  a  man ; 
and  each  race  appropriates  him,  as  if  he  interpreted 
their  truest  and  deepest  conception  of  manhood.  That 
which  was  peculiar  to  his  age  and  country  seems  to 
have  withered  and  dropped  away,  as  leaves  do  when 
they  have  nourished  the  cluster,  which  could  not  have 
ripened  without  them,  but  which,  being  grown,  is  un- 
like them  in  form,  in  color,  and  in  flavor. 

The  only  incident  mentioned  by  the  Evangelists  in 
connection  with  Christ's  stay  in  Judcea  is  that  he  bap- 
tized there.  Yet  it  is  expressly  said,  "  Jesus  himself 
baptized  not,  but  his  disciples."  The  use  of  water  as 
a  sign  of  ceremonial  cleanness  is  as  old  as  the  insti- 
tutes of  Moses,  and  probably  was  borrowed  from 
Egyptian  customs.  It  may  be  said  to  be  a  custom 
almost  universal  among  Oriental  nations.  It  was 
natural  that  water  should  become  in  like  manner  a 
symbol  and  declaration  of  moral  purity.  In  this  im- 
portant element,  the  baptism  of  John,  the  baptism  of 
Jesus,  and  the  baptism  of  the  Apostles  in  the  early 
Church  are  substantially  one.  There  was,  undoubt- 
edly, a  variation  of  formula.  Paul  says  that  John  bap- 
tized a  baptism  of  repentance,  and  made  his  converts 
promise  obedience  to  the  Saviour  that  was  to  come. 
No  such  formula  could  have  been  used  in  the  presence 


224  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

of  the  Saviour  himself.  Nor  can  we  suppose  that  the 
apostohc  formula,  by  which  candidates  were  baptized 
into  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  could  have  been  unfolded  at  this  early  period. 
But  whatever  the  formula,  and  whatever  the  specific 
variations,  all  these  forms  of  baptism  we're  essentially 
one,  and  were  but  a  token  and  announcement  of  moral 
changes  begun  or  promised.  It  was  of  powerful  in- 
fluence in  giving  decision  and  definiteness  to  moral 
reformation.  Good  resolutions  without  action  soon 
melt  away.  Mere  purposes  of  a  better  life  change 
easily  to  dreams  and  reveries.  But  men  who  have 
openly  declared  their  withdrawal  from  evil,  and  their 
adhesion  to  virtue  and  piety,  are  committed  before 
their  fellows.  After  an  open  espousal  of  religion, 
that  pride  and  vanity  which  before  resisted,  now 
fortify  men's  zeal. 

It  is,  however,  remarkable,  that  only  in  these  early 
and  obscure  periods  of  his  ministry,  and  while  he  was  in 
John's  neighborhood  and  surrounded  by  a  community 
that  had  been  aroused  by  that  bold  and  stern  reformer, 
did  Christ  continue  in  the  use  of  baptism.  There 
seems  to  have  been  a  special  reason  why  he  should 
drop  it.  A  dispute  arose  between  John's  disciples 
and  those  of  Jesus  "  about  purifying."  What  it  was, 
is  not  said.  It  is  supposed  to  relate  to  some  form 
of  baptizing.  Where  men  had  been  trained  in  the 
school  of  the  Pharisee,  it  Avould  not  be  hard  to  find 
occasion  of  difference.  The  moral  duty  of  accuracy 
in  outward  forms  was  the  peculiar  spirit  of  Pharisa- 
ism. Indifference  to  all  religious  forms,  if  only  the 
interior  reality  be  present,  was  the  .spirit  of  Christ. 
To  him  baptism  was  a  secondary  matter,  incidental 


THE  FIRST  JUD^AN  MINISTRY.  225 

and  declaratory.  It  was  not  an  initiation,  but  tlie 
sign  of  one.  It  conveyed  no  moral  change,  but  it 
was  the  profession  of  one.  It  was  an  act  which  re- 
quired a  disclosure  of  feeling,  the  manifestation  of  a 
purpose,  commitment  to  a  vital  decision  ;  and  so  far 
as  by  this  outward  action  men  could  be  aided  in  the 
struggles  of  a  new  life,  it  was  useful,  —  so  far  and  no 
farther.  Already  Jesus  had  expounded  to  Nicodemus 
the  inoperative  nature  of  baptism  as  a  mere  sign  of 
reformation  :  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Sjnrit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  " ; 
which  is  saying,  in  effect,  Do  not  rest'  in  the  mere 
fact  that  you  have  been  baptized.  John,  indeed,  bap- 
tized to  repentance  and  reformation.  That  is  but  the 
lowest  step ;  it  is  a  mere  shadow  and  symbol.  Hast 
thou  been  baptized  ?  That  is  not  enough.  Except  a 
man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

But  this  long  dispute  that  had  begun  between  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  and  of  John  is  not  ended  yet. 
Which  of  two  baptisms  is  best, —  either  of  which  is 
good  enough  as  a  symbol,  and  neither  of  which  is 
good  for  anything  else,  —  still  engages  good  men  in 
conscientious  and  useless  controversy.  The  Jews  who 
had  been  baptized  by  John  thought,  doubtless,  that 
they  had  been  better  baptized  than  those  other  Jews 
who  had  been  baptized  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus.  It 
is  very  likely  that  there  was  some  slight  difference 
in  the  way  of  handling  the  candidates.  Doubtless  the 
words  spoken  over  them  in  the  formula  of  baptism 
were  a  little  different.  But  the  Jews  had  been  reared 
to  a  ceremonial  worship,  and  had  become  very  rigor- 
ous in  the  observance  of  each  slightest  particular  of 


15 


226  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

an  external  service,  lest  the  absence  of  any  single 
particle  would  leave  a  leak  through  which  all  the 
virtue  would  run  out.  Ceremonialism  tends  to  scru- 
pulosity, and  scrupulosity  to  superstition,  and  super- 
stition is  idolatry.  To  this  day  men  are  yet  camped 
down  beside  the  Jordan,  disputing  about  baj)tism ;  and 
now,  as  then,  in  the  full  blaze  of  a  system  whose  whole 
force  is  spiritual,  disciples  are  divided,  not  even  on  an 
ordinance,  but  on  the  external  method  of  its  adminis- 
tration. Good  men  have  intrenched  their  consciences 
behind  an  externality  of  an  externality.  Nor  is  the 
whole  common  spiritual  wealth  of  Christianity  able  to 
imite  men  who  have  quarrelled  over  the  husk  and 
rind  of  a  symbolical  ordinance. 

There  came  near  being  two  sects.  It  needed  only 
that  the  leaders  on  this  question  of  baptism  should 
take  sides  with  their  disciples  effectually  to  split  their 
common  movement  into  two  warring  halves.  Jesus, 
seeing  the  danger,  not  only  left  the  neighborhood, 
but  ceased  baptizing.  There  is  no  record  or  hint 
from  this  day  that  any  of  his  disciples,  or  even  that 
his  own  Apostles,  were  baptized. 

It  is  never  easy  for  a  master  to  see  his  authority 
waning  and  another  taking  his  place.  Therefore 
when  on  this  occasion  John's  disciples  resorted  to 
him,  saying,  "  He  that  was  with  thee  beyond  Jordan, 
to  whom  thou  barest  witness,  behold,  the  same  baptiz- 
eth,  and  all  men  come  to  him,'^  we  see  in  his  answer  a 
disposition  worthy  of  the  forerunner  of  Christ.  Only 
the  noblest  natures  so  rejoice  in  the  whole  work  of 
God  on  earth  that  they  are  willing  to  "spend  and 
be  spent"  for  the  sake  of  the  common  good.  John's 
camel's   hair  and   food   of  the  wilderness  were  well 


THE  FIRST  JUDyEAN  MINISTRY.  227 

enough ;  his  stern  morality  and  burning  zeal  in  re- 
forming his  people  were  commendable ;  but  not  all 
of  them  revealed  his  true  nobility  as  did  the  reply  of 
this  unsectarian  leader  to  his  sectarian  disciples  :  "I 
am  not  the  Christ.  I  am  sent  before  him.  He  must 
increase,  I  must  decrease."  Thus  John  yielded  up 
his  place,  even  as  a  flower  falls  and  dies  that  it  may 
give  place  to  the  fruit  that  swells  beneath  it.  Nor 
ought  we  to  lose  the  beauty  of  that  figure  which 
John  employed  :  "  The  friend  of  the  bridegroom, 
which  standeth  and  heareth  him,  rejoiceth  greatly 
because  of  the  bridegroom's  voice  :  this  my  joy  there- 
fore is  fulfilled."  Jesus  is  the  true  bridegroom,  I  am 
only  his  groomsman ;  but  I  make  his  happiness  my 
own ! 

The  time  had  come  for  Jesus  to  leave  Judaea. 
Warned  by  these  disputes  of  the  danger  of  a  useless 
controversy,  and  perceiving  as  well  that  his  opportu- 
nity was  not  yet  ripe,  he  j^i'epared  to  go  home  to 
Galilee.  He  felt  the  access  of  a  larger  power.  He  had 
thus  far  pursued  his  work  in  a  tentative  way,  and 
without  displaying  those  wonderful  influences  which 
so  often  afterward  swept  everything  before  him.  But 
as  when  he  came  up  from  the  Jordan  the  Spirit  of  God 
descended  upon  him;  so  a  second  time,  now  on  the 
eve  of  his  great  missionary  circuit,  his  soul  was  won- 
derfully replenished  and  exalted.  He  rose  to  a  higher 
sphere.  He  took  one  more  step  back  toward  his  full 
origmal  self.  A  portion  of  that  might  and  majesty 
which  had  been  restrained  by  his  mortal  flesh  was 
unfolding,  and  he  was  to  work  with  a  higher  power 
and  upon  a  higher  plane  than  before. 

By  weaving   together   from   the    four    Evangelists 


228  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

the  account  of  his  dejDarture,  we  shall  get  a  clear 
view  of  the  grounds  on  which  the  above  remarks  are 
founded. 

"  Now  after  that  John  was  put  in  prison,  and  Jesus 
had  heard  that  he  was  cast  into  prison,  and  when  the 
Lord  knew  how  the  Pharisees  had  heard  that  Jesus 
made  and  baptized  more  disciples  than  John  (though 
Jesus  himself  baptized  not,  but  his  disciples),  he  left 
Judsea,  and  departed  again,  and  returned  in  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  into  Galilee.'^ 


TEE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S   WELL.  229 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S  WELL. 

Fkom  Jerusalem  to  Galilee  the  shortest  and  in  many 
respects  the  most  interesting  road  ran  directly  north, 
along  the  highest  ridge  of  the  Judcean  hills.  This  table- 
land was  comparatively  narrow.  On  the  east,  its  flank 
was  cut  by  deep  ravines  running  down  to  the  Jordan. 
On  the  west,  another  system  of  ravines  ran  down  to 
the  great  maritime  plain.  Along  the  upper  line  be- 
tween these  gorges  and  valleys,  the  table-land  was  of 
variable  breadth,  and  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  was 
clothed  with  trees  and  vines  to  an  extent  that  can 
hardly  be  imagined  by  one  who  views  it  in  its  present 
barren  and  desolate  state. 

This  region,  including  the  ravines  and  valleys  shoot- 
ing down  on  either  hand  from  the  ridge,  may  be  called 
the  mihtary  ground  of  Palestine.  At  almost  every 
step  one  might  here  recall  some  famous  conflict.  It 
was  along  this  plateau  that  Joshua  fought  his  chief 
battles.  Here  Saul  triumphed,  and  here  he  was  finally 
overthrown  and  slain.  Over  this  ground  the  ark  went 
in  captivity  to  Philistia.  David  fought  over  every 
inch  of  this  territory,  hid  in  its  caves,  wandered  in 
its  wilderness,  and  at  length  secured  peace  from  his 
enemies  through  their  final  overthrow  and  subjugation. 
In  his  day  Jerusalem,  wholly  wrested  from  the  Jebu- 
sites,  became  the  capital  of  the  nation,  which  reached 


230  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  TEE  CHRIST. 

the  summit  of  its  prosperity  under  the  brilliant  but 
delusive  reign  of  Solomon.  The  glory  of  that  reign 
was  autumnal,  and  presaged  decay. 

The  very  names  of  towns  and  cities  on  either  side 
of  this  great  road  are  histories.  Ai,  —  the  first  city 
conquered  by  Joshua,  —  Gibe  ah,  Mizpeh,  Michmash, 
Gibeon,  Beth-horon,  Bethel,  Gilgal,  Shiloli,  Shechem, 
and  many  others,  could  hardly  fail  to  call  up  to  any 
intelligent  Jew  a  host  of  historic  remembrances.  At 
Bethel  (Luz)  Abraham  pitched  his  tent,  finding  then, 
as  is  still  found,  excellent  pasturage;  and  here  he  and 
Lot  separated.  This  place  was  the  annual  resort  of 
Samuel  to  judge  Israel.  Here  Jeroboam  set  up  the 
golden  calf,  when  he  designed  to  draw  away  the  ten 
tribes  from  the  worship  of  Jehovah.  It  was  a  place  of 
eminent  sacredness  in  Jewish  history,  and  the  prophet 
Amos  (v.  5)  sadly  and  solemnly  predicts  its  ruin. 

Under  the  palm-trees  between  Rama  and  Bethel,  on 
the  mount  of  Ephraim,  the  prophetess  Deborah  sat  and 
judged  Israel  (Judges  iv.  4,  v.  12).  It  was  hard  by 
Bethel,  but  eastward,  that  our  Saviour,  near  the  close 
of  his  life,  took  refuge  in  the  city  of  Ephraim  — 
Ephron  and  Ophrah  of  the  Old  Testament  —  from  the 
malice  of  his  enemies  in  Jerusalem,  and  thence  crossed 
over  Jordan  to  Persea.  The  names  of  Abraham,  of 
Isaac,  of  Jacob,  and  of  Joseph,  —  whose  grave  is  near 
to  Shechem,  —  are  associated  with  every  step  of  the 
way.  The  lapse  of  time  has  obliterated  for  us  a  thou- 
sand monuments  and  landmarks  which  must  have 
been  fresh  and  vital  in  the  day  when  our  Lord  passed 
by  them.  Each  bald  rock  had  its  tale,  every  ravine 
its  legend,  every  mountain  j^eak  its  history.  The  very 
trees,  gnarled  and   lifted  high   on   some    signal   hill, 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S    WELL.  231 

brought  to  mind  many  a  stirring  incident.  This  was 
the  road  over  which  Jesus  himself  had  o-one  in  his 
childhood  with  Mary  and  with  Joseph. 

All  modern  travellers  are  enraptured  with  the  beauty 
of  the  vale  in  which  Shechem  stands.  Coming  down 
from  the  Judsean  hills,  from  among  rocky  passes  and 
stinted  arboreous  vegetation,  the  contrast  at  once  pre- 
sented of  luxuriant  fields  of  wheat  and  barley,  the 
silvery  green  of  olive-trees,  the  fig,  the  oak,  together 
with  the  company  of  singing  birds,  would  fill  the  sen- 
sitive mind  with  delight.  Van  de  Yelde  presents  a 
striking  picture,  not  only  of  the  beauty  of  the  vale  of 
Shechem,  but  of  the  atmospheric  appearance  of  Pales- 
tine in  general,  which  is  worthy  of  preservation. 

"  The  awful  gorge  of  the  Leontes  is  grand  and  bold 
beyond  description ;  the  hills  of  Lebanon,  over  against 
Sidon,  are  magnificent  and  sublime ;  the  valley  of  the 
hill  of  Naphtali  is  rich  in  wild  oak  forest  and  brush- 
wood ;  those  of  Asher  and  Wady  Kara,  for  example, 
present  a  beautiful  combination  of  wood  and  mountain 
stream  in  all  the  magnificence  of  undisturbed  origi- 
nality. Carmel,  with  its  wilderness  of  timber  trees  and 
shrubs,  of  plants  and  bushes,  still  answers  to  its  ancient 
reputation  for  magnificence. 

"  But  the  vale  of  Shechem  differs  from  them  all.  Here 
there  is  no  wilderness,  here  there  are  no  wild  thickets, 
yet  there  is  always  verdure,  —  always  shade,  not  of  the 
oak,  the  terebinth,  and  the  caroub-tree,  but  of  the  olive- 
grove,  so  soft  in  color,  so  picturesque  in  form,  that  for 
its  sake  we  can  willingly  dispense  with  all  other  wood. 

"  Here  there  are  no  impetuous  mountain  torrents, 
yet  there  is  water,  —  water,  too,  in  more  copious  sup- 
plies than  anywhere  else  in  the  land ;  and  it  is  just 


232  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

to  its  many  fountains,  rills,  and  water-courses  that  the 
valley  owes  its  exquisite  beauty. 

"  There  is  a  singularity  about  the  vale  of  Shechem, 
and  that  is  the  peculiar  coloring  which  objects  as- 
sume in  it.  You  know  that  wherever  there  is  water 
the  air  becomes  charged  with  watery  particles,  and 
that  distant  objects,  beheld  through  that  medium,  seem 
to  be  enveloped  in  a  pale  blue  or  gray  mist,  such  as 
contributes  not  a  little  to  give  a  charm  to  the  land- 
scape. But  it  is  precisely  these  atmospheric  tints  that 
we  miss  so  much  in  Palestine.  Fiery  tints  are  to  be 
seen  both  in  the  morning  and  the  evening,  and  glit- 
tering violet  or  purple-colored  hues  where  the  light 
falls  next  to  the  long,  deep  shadows ;  but  there  is  an 
absence  of  coloring,  and  of  that  charming  dusky  haze 
in  which  objects  assume  such  softly  blended  forms,  and 
in  which  also  the  transition  in  color  from  the  foreground 
to  the  farthest  distance  loses  the  hardness  of  outline 
peculiar  to  the  perfect  transj)arency  of  an  Eastern  sky. 

"It  is  otherwise  in  the  vale  of  Shechem,  at  least 
in  the  mornino;  and  the  evening;.  Here  the  exhalations 
remain  hoverino;  amono;  the  branches  and  leaves  of  the 
olive-trees,  and  hence  that  lovely  bluish  haze. 

"  The  valley  is  far  from  broad,  not  exceeding  in  some 
places  a  few  hundred  feet.  This  you  find  generally 
enclosed  on  all  sides  :  there  likewise  the  vapors  are 
condensed.  And  so  you  advance  under  the  shade  of 
the  foliage  along  the  living  waters,  and  charmed  by 
the  melody  of  a  host  of  singing  birds,  —  for  they,  too, 
know  where  to  find  their  best  quarters,  —  while  the 
perspective  fades  away,  and  is  lost  in  the  damp,  va- 
pory atmosphere."  ^ 

^  Van  de  Volde,  I.  386,  as  quoted  by  Stanley. 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S   WELL.  233 

At  no  other  spot  in  Palestine,  probably,  could  Jesus 
have  more  fitly  uttered  his  remarkable  doctrine  of  the 
absolute  liberty  of  conscience  from  all  thrall  of  place 
or  tradition  than  here  in  Shechem,  where  the  whole 
Jewish  nation,  in  a  peculiar  sense,  had  its  beginning. 
It  was  here  that  the  great  patriarch,  Abraham,  made 
his  first  halt  in  Canaan,  coming  down  from  Damas- 
cus and  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  before  any  regular 
village  existed  except  the  huddled  tents  of  Bedouins. 
Here  he  built  an  altar  and  worshipped.  That  faint 
smoke  which  lay  in  the  air  but  for  a  moment  against 
the  background  of  Gerizim  or  Ebal  was  the  prophecy 
of  myriads  of  sacrificial  fires  in  after  ages,  kindled  in 
this  land  by  his  posterity,  to  that  God  who  was  then 
for  the  first  time  worshipped  in  Palestine.  From  Abra- 
ham to  Christ  had  been  a  long  and  weary  way ;  but 
now  the  Messiah  was  come,  the  last  sacrifice.  Thence- 
forth neither  in  this  mountain  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem 
should  men  worship  God,  but  under  every  sky,  in 
every  spot  where  a  true  heart  yearned  or  suffered. 

It  was  here  that  Jacob  first  pitched  his  tent,  having 
parted  from  Esau  in  safety,  and  come  down  to  the 
Jordan  through  the  valley  cleft  by  the  river  Jal^bok. 
"  And  he  bought  a  parcel  of  a  field,  where  he  had 
spread  his  tent,  at  the  hand  of  the  children  of  Hamor, 
Shechem's  father,  for  an  hundred  pieces  of  money. 
And  he  erected  there  an  altar,  and  called  it  El- 
Elohe-Iseael."  When  the  Israelites  returned  from 
Egypt  and  crossed  the  Jordan,  they  lay  for  a  time  in 
the  valley,  thrusting  out  an  arm,  as  it  were,  to  de- 
stroy the  chief  cities  on  the  hills  between  what  is 
now  Jerusalem  and  Shechem.  But  the  first  per- 
manent removal  of  the  whole  camp  into  the  interior 


234  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

brought  them  to  this  vale,  and  here  they  discharged 
their  sacred  trust,  and  buried  the  bones  of  Joseph 
near  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  It  is  one  of  the  few 
burial-places  of  the  earlier  heroes  of  the  Hebrews 
which  may  be  regarded  as  having  been  accurately 
preserved  by  tradition. 

It  was  in  this  vale,  and  in  the  jDresence  of  these 
momitains,  Gerizim  on  the  south  and  Ebal  on  the  north, 
that  the  most  august  assembly  which  historj^  has  ever 
recorded  was  gathered  together.  Before  the  tribes 
were  separated  and  sent  to  their  respective  allotments 
of  territory,  while  yet  the  people  were  living  a  camp 
life,  —  a  vast  camp  of  three  million  souls,  —  a  mova- 
ble city,  a  wandering  state,  a  nomadic  commonwealth, 
—  it  seemed  desirable  to  produce  upon  their  memory 
and  their  imagination  a  solemn  impression,  that  should 
not  wear  out  for  generations,  of  their  esj)ecial  calling, 
of  their  eminent  moral  duties  as  a  peculiar  nation, 
the  people  of  Jehovah. 

Into  the  narrow  plain  of  Shechem  came  the  whole 
nation.  On  the  north  stood  precipitous  Ebal,  over 
against  it  on  the  south  was  Gerizim,  The  tribes 
were  divided.  Six  tribes  drew  around  the  base  and 
lined  the  sides  of  the  one  mountain,  and  six  swaimed 
up,  a  million  and  a  half  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
upon  the  other ;  the  ark,  the  priests  and  Levites, 
standing  midway  between  the  two  great  mountains. 
Then  the  nation,  with  a  dramatic  solemnity  unpar- 
alleled, entered  into  a  covenant  with  God.  All  other 
historic  assemblages  sink  into  insignificance  compared 
with  this.  For  grandeur  it  can  be  equalled  only  in 
the  representation  of  the  great  final  Judgment  day 
and   the    gorgeous    Apocalyptic   visions.      The    whole 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S   WELL.  235 

La^.v  was  read  hy  the  Levites,  to  its  last  words.  Nor, 
from  the  accounts  of  travellers,  can  there  be  a  doubt 
that  in  the  clear  air  of  Palestine  the  human  voice 
could  make  itself  distinctly  audible  through  all  the  vale 
and  the  mountain  galleries,  crowded  with  three  million 
people.  The  most  striking,  as  doubtless  it  was  the  most 
thrilling,  part  of  the  service  followed  the  reading  of 
the  Law.  Moses  had  drawn  up  an  inventory  of  bless- 
ings which  should  come  upon  the  people  if  they  kept 
the  law ;  and  twice  as  many  curses,  of  extraordinary 
variety  and  bitterness,  if  they  were  unfiithful  to  the 
Law.  As  each  blessing  was  promised,  all  the  people 
on  Gerizim  shouted  a  cheerful  Ame:n^  !  To  the  curses, 
a  sullen  Ame^s"  !  was  echoed  back  from  Ebal.  Thus  the 
mountains  cried  one  to  the  other,  like  the  sound  of 
many  waters,  in  thunders  of  curses  and  of  blessings. 

For  a  long  time  Shechem  served  as  a  kind  of  capital ; 
and  even  after  Jerusalem  had  become  the  chief  and 
royal  city,  coronations  took  place  at  Shechem,  as  if  it 
had  a  relation  to  the  nation's  history  which  gave  it 
peculiar  sanctity. 

Samaria  was  inhabited  in  the  time  of  Christ  by  the 
descendants  of  heathen  nations,  sent  thither  by  the 
king  of  Babylon  to  replace  the  Jews,  of  whom  the  land 
had  been  stripped  bare  by  Shalmaneser,  B.  C.  72 L 
They  had,  however,  endeavored  to  adopt  the  Jewish 
worship  without  entirely  relinquishing  idolatry.  Being 
repelled  by  the  Jews  from  all  participation  in  the 
building  of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  they  had  built  a 
temple  of  their  own  upon  Mount  Gerizim,  and  claimed 
for  it  a  sanctity  even  greater  than  that  of  Jerusalem. 
The  enmity  between  the  Jew  and  the  Samaritan  rose 
to  such  a  pitch  that  they  refused  all  intercourse  with 


236  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

each  other.  The  education  of  the  Jew  made  him  a 
very  determined  hater,  and  every  patriotic  impulse 
and  the  whole  fervor  of  his  religious  feehng  quickened 
and  intensified  the  hatred  and  contempt  with  which 
he  looked  upon  a  mongrel  race  who  practised  idola- 
try, the  greatest  crime  known  to  the  Jew,  under  the 
pretence  of  a  rival  worship  of  Jehovah.  There  is  no 
passion  so  strong  in  human  nature  as  an  educated 
religious  hatred.  It  was  this  national  abhorrence  that 
gave  such  audacity  to  the  parable  of  the  Good  Sa- 
maritan, uttered  by  our  Lord,  and  that  marks  the 
interview  at  Jacob's  well. 

There  is  no  means  of  determining  with  exactness 
at  what  time  of  the  year  Christ  passed  through  Sama- 
ria, and  consequently  scholars  fix  the  time  all  alono- 
from  November  to  March.  We  incline  to  the  opinion 
that  it  was  not  far  from  December.  With  his  few 
disciples,  Jesus  came  from  the  mountain  of  Ephraim 
into  the  plain  of  Shechem,  and  of  course  approached 
the  passage  between  Gerizim  and  Ebal  at  its  eastern 
end.  Robinson  says  that  Jacob's  well  is  "  on  the  end 
of  a  low  spur  or  swell  running  out  from  the  north- 
eastern base  of  Gerizim,  and  is"  still  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  plain  below."  The  whole 
region  around  is  alive  with  natural  springs.  Seventy 
distinct  fountains  have  been  counted,  some  of  them 
gushing  with  such  force  and  abundance,  that,  after 
supplying  many  houses  and  gardens,  the  waste  water 
is  still  sufficient  to  turn  small  mills. 

This  very  abundance  of  springs  has  given  rise  to 
the  doubting  question,  Why  should  Jacob  dig  a  well 
ten  feet  in  diameter,  to  the  depth  of  eighty-five  feet, 
through  solid  rock,  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  water, 


TEE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S   WELL.  237 

when  already  water  bubbled  up  in  extraordinary 
abundance  on  every  side  ?  The  reason  doubtless  was, 
that  these  natural  fountains  were  already  in  posses- 
sion of  the  native  population,  who  would  be  jealous  of 
a  foreigner  whose  vast  herds  and  flocks,  and  whose 
household  servants  and  trained  bands,  indicated  a 
power  and  prosperity  which  they  did  not  altogether 
enjoy.  In  that  land  a  well-spring  was  a  valuable  pri- 
vate property,  held  by  families  and  tribes  very  much 
as  coal  and  iron  mines  and  water-powers  are,  in  our 
day,  owned  by  companies.  Besides,  in  the  watering 
of  Jacob's  great  flocks  there  would  be  peculiar  danger 
of  quarrels  and  conflicts  with  native  herdsmen.  It 
was  like  Jacob  —  a  pacific  and  sagacious  manager, 
better  fitted  for  keeping  out  of  danger  than  for  the 
display  of  courage  and  the  love  of  fighting  —  to  pro- 
vide a  well  of  his  own,  and  thus  to  secure  at  the  same 
time  peace  with  his  neighbors  and  personal  indepen- 
dence. This  well  is  among  the  few  memorials  of  the 
jDatriarchal  period  about  which  tradition  is  hardly  sus- 
pected of  lying.  It  is  safe  to  accept  it  as  a  gift  to 
posterity  from  the  very  hands  of  the  most  politic  and 
worldly-wise  of  all  the  Jewish  patriarchs.  Around  it 
his  own  flocks  have  flourished.  He  has  himself  stood 
at  evening  to  see  the  eager  herds  rushing  to  the  stone 
troughs  to  slake  their  thirst.  In  that  burning  land 
thirst  was  a  torment,  and  its  relief  a  great  luxury. 
Indeed,  there  are  few  of  the  lower  sensations  of  enjoy- 
ment kno^vn  to  man  that  equal  the  cup  of  cold  water 
in  the  hour  of  thirst.  And  he  is  not  fit  for  pastoral 
life  who  does  not  take  pleasure  in  watching  animals 
drink.  We  may  be  sure  that  Jacob  often  stood  by  the 
watering- troughs  to  direct  the  orderly  administration 


238  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

of  things,  and  to  watch  the  scene  with  quiet  satisfac- 
tion. Eagerly  the  cattle  plunge  their  muzzles  deep  in 
the  water.  They  lift  their  heads  for  breath,  the  drops 
falling  back  to  the  trough,  flashing  in  the  evening 
light  like  opals.  They  drink  again.  They  toss  the 
water  now  with  their  lips  in  play.  They  draw  large 
draughts  and  stand  long  without  swallowing,  as  if  to 
cool  their  throats,  and  slowly  turn  away,  now  full 
satisfied,  to  couch  down,  with  long-drawn  breath,  and 
rest  for  the  night.  It  were  well  for  us  if  these  simj^le 
rural  tastes  could  supplant  the  feverish  jDleasures  of 
untimely  hours  in  crowded  towns,  where  less  of  nature 
and  more  of  man  work  corruption  of  taste  and  of 
morals. 

We  love  to  think  of  this  old  well  and  its  long  work 
of  mercy.  Through  hundreds  and  through  thousands 
of  years  at  its  brink  have  stood  old  men,  little  children, 
weary  pilgrims,  fair  maidens,  grim  warriors,  stately 
sheiks,  dusty  travellers, —  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
the  East  and  of  the  West.  It  gave  forth  its  water  to 
the  good  and  bad  alike.  It  not  improbably  crowned 
its  beneficence  by  furnishing  to  the  prophet  the  sug- 
gestion of  "  wells  of  salvation,"  which  in  time  were 
transferred  to  the  ideal  city,  the  great  overhanging 
Home  of  mankind  ;  and  the  message  of  God  in  the 
Revelation  closes  with  the  voice  of  one  crying  to 
the  whole  earth,  for  all  time,  "  And  the  Spirit  and 
the  bride  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that  heareth  say, 
Come.  And  let  him  that  is  athirst  come.  And  who- 
soever will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 

On  the  route  which  Jesus  had  chosen  from  Judaia  to 
Galilee  "  he  must  needs  pass  through  Samaria."  It 
was  the  shortest  and  easiest  road.     Yet  such  was  the 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S   WELL.  239 

animosity  of  Jews  towards  Samaritans  that  for  the  most 
part  the  Jews  preferred  the  circuitous  road  through 
Peraja,  east  of  the  Jordan.  The  December  sun  was 
not  so  fervid  as  to  forbid  travelling  through  the  whole 
day.  It  was  about  noon  when  Jesus  came  to  Jacob's 
well.  There  was  a  stone  platform  about  it,  and  doubt- 
less other  provision  was  made  for  the  comfort  of  trav- 
ellers. Here  Jesus  rested  while  his  disciples  went  on 
to  Sychar  to  buy  food.  The  town  of  Shechem,  like 
its  modern  successor  Nablous,  was  two  miles  from  the 
well,  and  Sychar  w^as  probably  the  name  for  a  neigh- 
borhood attached  to  Shechem,  but  much  nearer  to  the 
well.  Every  considerable  place  will  be  found  to  have 
nicknames  for  such  outlying  settlements,  and  Sychar 
was  probably  such  a  one. 

Jesus  had  not  been  long  there  before  a  Samaritan 
woman  approached  to  draw  water,  and  was  surprised 
that  a  stranger,  and  he  a  Jew,  should  say  to  her, 
"  Give  me  to  drink."  Although  an  easy,  good-natured 
creature,  and  too  fond  of  society,  no  one  should  say  that 
she  had  not  shown  a  proj)er  spirit  in  standing  up  for 
the  right  of  all  Samaritans  to  hate  Jews  !  "  How  is  it 
that  thou,  being  a  Jew,  askest  drink  of  me,  who  am  a 
woman  of  Samaria  ?  " 

Christ  was  conscious  of  the  contrast  in  himself 
between  appearance  and  reality.  He  felt  the  Divine 
nature  within,  yet  to  the  eye  there  was  no  divhiity. 
The  woman's  reply  touched  that  consciousness  of  his 
real  superior  existence.  "  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of 
God,  and  who  it  is  that  saith  to  thee.  Give  me  to  drink, 
thou  w^ouldest  have  asked  of  him,  and  he  would  have 
given  thee  living  water." 

We  see  in  this  conversation  again  the  very  same 


240  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

subtile  play  of  tlionglit  between  the  iHcaterial  and  its 
spiritual  counterpart  which  was  shown  in  the  conversa- 
tions with  Nicodemus  and  with  the  questioners  in  the 
Temple.  Jesus  seems  like  one  who  thought  on  two 
different  j^lanes.  He  recognized  the  qualities  and  the 
substance  of  this  Avorld  as  they  appeared  to  his  follow- 
ers, while  their  outcome  and  value  and  meanino-  in 
the  spiritual  life  was  his  real  and  inner  interpretation 
of  them.  This  doubleness  we  often  see  in  parents,  or' 
in  benevolent  teachers  of  children,  who  ero  alons^  with 
the  child's  understanding,  and  yet  perceive  that  things 
are  not  as  the  child  thinks  them  to  be,  and  their  con- 
sciousness plays  back  and  forth  between  the  child's 
imperfect  sense  of  truth  and  their  OAvn  truer  judgment 
of  reality. 

Jesus  seemed  to  the  woman  to  be  talking  about  real 
water.  The  term  "  living  water  "  has  not  necessarily  a 
spiritual  significance.  Living  ^v^ater  was  perhaps  to 
her  ears  spring-water,  for  nothing  seems  more  alive 
than  running  water;  and  her  mind  was  divided  be- 
tween respect  and  curiosity.  At  any  rate,  she  now 
bethinks  herself  of  his  title,  and  calls  him  Master,  or, 
as  in  the  English  version.  Sir.  "  Sir,  thou  hast  noth- 
ing to  draw  with,  and  the  well  is  deep  :  from  whence 
then  hast  thou  that  living  water  ?  "  And  then  look- 
ing upon  the  traveller,  and  in  her  mind  contrasting 
his  helpless  appearance  with  the  grand  ideas  enter- 
tained by  her  people  of  the  old  patriarch  Jacob,  she 
adds,  with  a  spice  of  humor,  "  Art  thou  greater  than 
our  father  Jacob,  which  gave  us  the  well,  and  drank 
thereof  himself,  and  his  children,  and  his  cattle  ? " 
Without  doubt,  she  regarded  this  answer  as  pecu- 
liarly effective  from  a  Samaritan  to  a  Jat^,  inasmuch 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S   WELL.  241 

as  she  had  given  him  to  understand,  Jew  as  he  was, 
that  Jacob  was  also  the  Samaritan's  father,  and  that 
the  detested  Samaritan  owned  the  patriarch's  very 
well,  so  that  thirsty  Jews  were  obliged  to  come  beg- 
ging a  drink  of  the  very  people  whom  they  despised 
as  outcasts  from  Israel  and  out  of  covenant  with  God. 
If  such  was  her  feeling,  the  reply  of  Jesus  put  it  all 
away,  and  brought  her  to  a  different  mind.  Without 
noticing  her  implied  taunts,  and  now  beginning  to  let 
her  see  that  he  was  not  talking  of  the  water  in  Ja- 
cob's well,  but  of  some  other,  —  what  other  she  could 
not  imagine,  —  he  said  :  "  Whosoever  drinketh  of  this 
water  shall  thirst  again  :  but  whosoever  drinketh  of 
the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst ;  but 
the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  be  in  him  a  well 
of  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  life." 

As  the  body  thirsts,  and  is  contented  with  water,  so 
there  is  for  unanswered  yearning,  for  unsatisfied  desires, 
for  all  that  restlessness  and  cravino^  of  feelinii:,  for  the 
thirst  of  the  soul,  a  living  water  which  shall  quiet  them ; 
not  as  water  quiets  the  body,  that  thirsts  again  in  an 
hour,  but  with  an  abiding  and  eternal  satisfaction.  This 
is  indeed  that  "gift  of  God"  which,  had  she  known, 
would  have  made  her  suppliant  to  him.  Even  yet 
how  few  know  it !  How  few  among  Christian  believers 
have  entered  into  that  rest  of  soul,  that  trust  and  love, 
which  come  from  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  which,  when 
once  the  Holy  Spirit  has  fully  shined  and  brought 
summer  to  the  soul,  will  never  depart  from  it,  but  will 
be  an  eternal  joy! 

None  of  all  this,  however,  did  she  understand.  Per- 
haps, while  Christ  was  speaking,  she  revolved  in  her 
mind  the  convenience  of  the  new  sort  of  water  which 

16 


242  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,    TEE   CHRIST. 

this  man  spoke  of,  and  what  a  treasure  it  would 
be  if,  Avhen  the  summer  came  on,  she  need  not 
trudge  wearily  to  this  well.  At  any  rate,  she  seems  to 
have  replied  in  a  business-like  spirit:  "Sir,  give  me 
this  water,  that  I  thirst  not,  neither  come  hither  to 
draw."  There  are  many  like  her,  who  would  be  glad 
of  such  a  Divine  gift  of  religion  as  should  take 
away  all  labor  and  trouble  of  Christian  life.  "  That  I 
come  not  hither  to  draw"  is  the  desire  of  thousands 
who  want  the  results  of  right  living  without  the 
trouble  of  living  aright. 

But  it  was  time  to  bring  home  the  truth  to  her 
conscience,  instead  of  discussing  themes  which  this 
poor  pleasure-loving  creature  could  understand  even 
less  than  Nicodemus.  As  if  he  were  about  to  comply 
with  her  request  for  this  gift  of  living  water,  (by 
which  very  hkely  she  understood  that  he  would  dis- 
cover to  her  a  new  and  near  spring,  bubbling  up 
close  at  hand  near  her  dwelling,)  he  says  to  her 
pointedly,  "  Go,  call  thy  husband."  There  must  have 
been  in  the  tone  and  manner  something  which  startled 
her ;  for  evidently  this  adroit  woman  was,  for  the 
moment,  thrown  off  her  guard.  Instead  of  waiving 
the  demand,  or  seeming  to  evade  it,  she  with  some 
sense  of  shame  hastily  replied,  "  I  have  no  husband." 
Like  an  arrow  well  aimed  from  a  strong  bow  the 
words  of  Jesus  struck  home  to  her  conscience.  "  Thou 
hast  well  said,  I  have  no  husband :  for  thou  hast  had 
five  husbands ;  and  he  whom  thou  now  hast  is  not  thy 
husband  :  in  that  saidst  thou  truly." 

It  was  but  a  second  of  confusion.  The  woman 
was  of  nimble  thought,  and  had  been  practised  in 
quick  ways.     There  is  great  di|)lomacy  in  her  recog- 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S   WELL.  243 

nizing  the  truth  of  the  allegation  in  a  way  of  compli- 
ment to  this  stranger,  rather  than  of  shame  to  her- 
self: "Sir,  I  perceive  that  thou  art  a  prophet."  And 
then,  with  fluent  dexterity,  she  eludes  the  personal 
topic  and  glides  into  the  stock  argument  between  the 
Jew  and  the  Samaritan.  Nor  can  we  help  noticing  the 
consummate  tact  with  which  she  managed  her  case. 
"  Our  fathers  worshipped  in  this  mountain."  And  there, 
right  before  them,  rose  Mount  Gerizim,  its  temple  blaz- 
ing in  the  midday  sun,  and  beginning  already  to  cast 
its  shadows  somewhat  toward  the  east.  The  argument, 
too,  of  "our  fathers"  has  always  proved  strong.  Opin- 
ions, like  electricity,  are  supposed  to  descend  more 
safely  along  an  unbroken  chain.  That  which  "  our  fa- 
thers "  or  our  ancestors  believed  is  apt  to  seem  neces- 
sarily true  ;  and  the  longer  the  roots  of  any  belief,  the 
more  flourishing,  it  is  supposed,  will  be  its  top.  "  Our 
fathers  worshipped  in  this  mountain,  and  ye  say  that 
in  Jerusalem  is  the  place  where  men  ought  to  w^or- 
ship."  This  was  the  bone  of  contention.  Worship  had 
ceased  to  be  the  offering  of  the  heart,  and  had  become 
a  superstition  of  places  and  external  methods. 

The  reply  of  Jesus  is  striking  in  its  appeal  to  her 
for  credence  :  "  Woman,  believe  me,  the  hour  com- 
eth,  when  ye  shall  neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  yet 
at  Jerusalem,  worship  the  Father."  This  answer  was 
not  in  the  spirit  of  the  Greek  philosophy,  which  was 
the  parent  of  scepticism ;  nor  in  the  Oriental  spirit, 
which  was  full  of  superstition ;  nor  in  the  Roman  spirit, 
which  was  essentially  worldly  and  unreligious ;  and  far 
less  did  it  breathe  the  contemporary  Jewish  spirit, 
whether  of  Pharisee  or  of  Sadducee.  It  expresses 
the  renunciation  of  the  senses  in  worship.     It  throws 


244  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

back  upon  the  heart  and  soul  of  every  one,  whoever 
he  may  be,  wherever  he  may  be,  the  whole  office  of 
worship.  It  is  the  first  gleam  of  the  new  morning. 
No  longer  in  this  nest  alone,  or  in  that,  shall  religion 
be  looked  for,  but,  escaping  from  its  shell,  heard  in 
all  the  earth,  in  notes  the  same  in  every  language, 
flying  unrestrained  and  free,  the  whole  heavens  shall 
be  its  sphere  and  the  whole  earth  its  home. 

But,  for  a  moment  restraining  these  imperial  views, 
Jesus  declares  that  in  so  far  as  the  truth  taught  at 
Mount  Zion  is  to  be  compared  with  that  at  Gerizim, 
Jerusalem  is  nearer  the  truth  of  God  than  Shechem. 
"  Ye  worship  ye  know  not  what :  we  know  what  we 
worship ;  for  salvation  is  of  the  Jews."  He  thus 
authenticates  the  religion  of  the  old  dispensation,  iden- 
tifies himself  with  the  Jews  as  distinguished  from  the 
Samaritans,  and  witnesses  to  the  essential  truth  of 
their  views  of  God  and  of  Divine  government.  Re- 
suming again  the  theme  of  religion  set  free  from  all 
external  constraints  and  all  superstitions  of  j^lace  and 
method,  he  adds :  "  But  the  hour  cometh,  and  now  is, 
when  the  true  worshippers  shall  worship  the  Father 
in  spirit  and  in  truth  :  for  the  Father  seeketh  such 
to  worship  him.  God  is  a  sj)irit,  and  they  that  wor- 
ship him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 
Henceforth  religion  shall  be  personal,  not  official. 

Sobered  by  the  impressive  manner  of  Jesus,  and 
having  an  indistinct  feeling  of  a  great  truth  in  his 
teaching,  the  woman  waives  the  dispute,  and,  catch- 
ing at  his  repeated  allusion  to  the  new  coming  future, 
safely  closes  her  part  in  saying,  "  I  know  that  Mes- 
sias  cometh,  which  is  called  Christ :  when  he  is  come, 
he  will  tell  us   all   things.     Jesus  saith  unto  her,  I 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S   WELL.  245 

that  speak  unto  thee  am  he."  But  just  then  came 
the  disciples,  and  we  have  never  ceased  to  wish  that 
they  had  stayed  away  a  httle  longer,  for  the  conver- 
sation had  reached  a  point  at  which  one  is  breathless 
for  the  next  sentence.  The  disciples  were  curious 
and  surprised  to  find  their  Master  thus  engaged,  and 
would  have  asked  inquisitively  what  he  was  talking 
about ;  but  there  was  something  in  his  manner  which 
checked  familiarity.  "No  man  said,  Why  tall^est  thou 
with  her?" 

Whether  Jesus  received  at  the  hands  of  the  woman 
the  coveted  draught  of  water,  we  know  not.  Carried 
away  by  the  thoughts  of  the  new  heaven  and  the 
new  earth,  in  the  glorious  efflux  of  the  spirit  of  life 
and  hberty  he  may  have  forgotten  his  bodily  thirst. 

It  is  certain  that  the  excitement  of  his  soul  so 
wrought  upon  his  body  as  to  take  away  his  desire  for 
food,  for,  when  his  disciples  urged  him  to  eat,  his 
enigmatical  reply  was,  "  I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye 
know  not  of"  And  they,  in  their  simplicity,  asked 
whether  any  one  had  brought  food  to  him.  Then 
he  declared  that  not  bread,  but  work,  was  his  food. 
He  felt  the  power  of  the  Spirit.  His  own  spirit  was 
kindled,  and  streamed  forth  toward  the  field  of 
labor,  which  was  ripe  and  waiting  for  the  sickle  of  the 
truth.  The  vale  of  Shechem  was  famous  for  its  grain- 
fields.  They  stretched  out  before  his  eye  in  the  ten- 
der green  of  their  first  sprouting.  Seizing  the  scene 
before  him,  as  he  was  wont  to  do  for  figure,  parable, 
or  theme,  he  said,  "  Say  not  ye.  There  are  yet  four 
months,  and  then  cometh  harvest  ?  behold,  I  say  unto 
you.  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  look  on  the  fields ;  for 
they  are  white  already  to  harvest." 


246  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE    CHRIST. 

Thus,  while  his  words  seemed  to  hold  on  to  the 
visible  field  of  young  grain,  his  meaning  had  really 
glanced  off  to  the  transcendent  field  of  moral  life. 
We  saw  the  same  method  in  his  reply  to  the  scribes 
in  the  Temple,  and  we  shall  find  it  a  peculiarity  of 
his  genius,  which  appears  in  all  the  Gospels,  but  which 
John  alone  seems  to  have  reproduced  fully. 

The  woman  was  profoundly  affected  by  the  surpris- 
ing interview.  She  hastened  back  to  her  friends, 
not  to  boast  a  triumph,  but  to  call  them  out  to  see 
a  man  "  that  told  me  all  things  that  ever  I  did." 
There  are  certain  experiences  which  stand  for  the 
whole  of  one's  life.  It  may  be  a  great  love,  or  a 
great  defeat  and  mortification,  or  a  great  crime,  or 
a  measureless  sorrow,  or  a  joy  lost  irrecoverably; 
whatever  it  may  be,  there  are  experiences  wdiicli 
epitomize  our  whole  life,  and  represent  to  our  mem- 
ory the  very  substance  of  life,  everything  besides 
being  incidental  and  accessory.  And  he  that  touches 
that  hidden  life  seems  to  have  revealed  everything. 
This  woman's  domestic  career  had  been  such  as  to 
show  the  channel  in  which  her  nature  ran.  A  single 
sentence  told  her  that  the  stranger  knew  her  spirit 
and  disposition.  It  was  not  his  words  alone,  but 
with  them  there  was  a  judicial  solemnity,  a  piercing 
eye  that  seemed  to  her  to  search  her  very  soul,  a  man- 
ner which  showed  that  he  sorrowed  for  her,  while  he 
was  exposing  her  career.  And  yet  she  had  lived  un- 
abashed and  content  with  herself.  The  whole  narrative 
shows  a  woman  not  utterly  sunk  in  evil,  careful  yet 
of  appearances,  —  a  woman  quick  of  thought,  fertile 
in  expedient,  and  possessed  of  much  natural  force,  — 
just  such  a  one   as  might  have  had  five  Imsbands. 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S    WELL.  247 

Love  had  not  taught  her  dehcacy  or  purity.  One 
does  not  think  pleasantly  of  five  successive  mar- 
riages, and  is  not  surprised  that  her  last  choice  had 
not  even  the  pretence  of  marriage.  Yet  tliis  shrewd 
but  pleasure-loving  woman  could  not  refrain  among 
her  townspeople  from  crying  out,  "  Is  not  this  the 
Christ  ?  "  Thereupon  the  citizens  rushed  out  "  and 
came  unto  him";  they  surrounded  him  with  entrea- 
ties —  he  too  a  Jew,  and  they  Samaritans  !  —  that  he 
would  come  home  with  them  and  tarry.  For  two  days 
he  stayed  with  them.  His  works  and  his  discourses 
are  not  recorded.  The  effects  of  them,  however, 
are  :  many  believed  ;  many  whose  curiosity  had  been 
excited  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  woman  exchanged 
curiosity  for  a  moral  conviction  that  this  was  indeed 
the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

We  thus  behold  Jesus  at  the  beginning  of  his  more 
open  ministry  setting  himself  against  the  seculariza- 
tion of  the  Temple  and  the  superficial  morality  of  the 
Pharisee,  turning  his  back  upon  Jerusalem,  and  with 
it  upon  the  strongest  national  passion,  namely,  the 
sense  of  superlative  Jewish  excellence,  and  the  bitter 
hatred  of  Gentiles,  and,  above  all  other  Gentiles,  of 
the  Samaritans.  Patriotism  among  the  Jews  had  lost 
all  kindliness,  and  was  made  up  of  intense  conceit  and 
hatred.  To  resist  this  spirit,  according  to  all  worldly 
calculations,  was  to  subject  himself  and  his  cause,  in 
the  very  beginning,  to  overwhelming  obloquy.  Of 
this  Jesus  could  not  have  been  ignorant.  He  needed 
no  experience  to  teach  him  that  his  countrymen,  by 
a  vicious  interpretation  of  their  Scriptures,  and  by 
their  peculiar  sufferings  in  captivity  and  inider  the 
yoke  at  home,  had  come  to  regard  a  malign  and  bitter 


248  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

hatred  of  all  Gentiles  not  only  as  compatible  with 
religion,  but  as  the  critical  exercise  of  it,  as  the  fulfil- 
ment of  its  innermost  spirit.  "  Thou  slialt  love  thy 
neighbor,  and  hate  thine  enemy." 

Even  common  prudence,  the  simple  instinct  of  safe- 
ty, would  have  inclined  a  mere  man  to  avoid  offending, 
at  any  rate  on  the  threshold,  the  strongest  impulses  of 
the  most  religious  portion  of  his  people,  especially  when 
it  needed  only  that  he  should  take  the  right-hand 
road  and  go  by  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  or  through 
Peroea  to  Galilee,  instead  of  going  through  Samaria. 
But  he  chose  to  go  through  Samaria.  When  a  woman 
doubly  abhorrent  to  the  precisionists  —  both  as  a  Sa- 
maritan and  as  one  of  loose  morals  —  drew  near  him, 
he  asked  the  boon  of  water,  and  thus  gave  her  leave  to 
enter  into  conversation  with  him,  and  treated  her,  not 
as  a  sinner,  but  as  a  human  being,  all  the  more  needy 
because  she  was  culpable  ;  he  sent  his  disciples  to  buy 
food  at  a  Samaritan  town,  though  "  the  Jews  have  no 
dealings  with  the  Samaritans";  and  finally,  though 
right  from  Jerusalem  and  from  the  Temple,  to  the 
horror  of  every  right-minded  Pharisee  he  accepted 
the  hospitality  of  the  Samaritans,  slept  under  their 
roofs,  ate  at  their  tables,  taught  in  their  streets,  and 
altogether  treated  them  as  if  they  were  as  good  as 
Jews ! 

Here,  then,  "  the  middle  wall  of  partition  "  began  to 
be  broken  down.  In  the  Temple,  between  the  Court 
of  the  Gentiles  and  the  next  inner  court  described  in 
our  last  chapter,  was  a  marble  screen  or  curiously 
carved  fence,  some  two  feet  high,  beyond  which  no 
Gentile  could  venture.  Had  a  Samaritan  put  his  foot 
inside  of  that  "  wall  of  partition  "  he  would  have  been 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOB'S   WELL.  249 

whirled  away  in  a  fury  of  rage,  and  stoned  to  death  in 
the  twinlding  of  an  eye.  But  Jesus  was  treading 
down  that  partition  wall.  He  that  was  himself  the 
spiritual  counterpart  of  the  Temple  was  admitting 
Samaritans  within  the  pale  of  Divine  sympathy  and 
love. 

This  visit  in  Samaria  is  of  singular  importance,  at 
the  opening  of  Christ's  ministry,  in  two  respects  :  first, 
as  a  deliberate  repudiation  and  rebuke  of  the  exclu- 
siveness  of  the  Jewish  Church ;  and  secondly,  and 
even  more  significantly,  as  to  the  humane  manner 
of  his  treatment  of  a  sinning  woman.  He  knew 
her  tainted  life.  He  knew  that  the  whole  world 
smiles  upon  the  act  of  degrading  a  woman,  and  that 
the  whole  world  puts  the  double  sin  upon  her  alone, 
hardly  esteeming  her  paramour  guilty  at  all,  but 
counting  her  sin  utterly  unforgivable.  He  who  after- 
wards said,  "The  publicans  and  harlots  shall  go  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  before  you,"  here  made  it  mani- 
fest that  sin  does  not  remove  the  sinner  from  Divine 
sympathy  and  love.  Christ  treated  not  this  care- 
less, shrewd,  dexterous  woman  of  the  world  with 
scorn  or  bitter  rebuke.  He  made  himself  her  com- 
panion. That  which  was  Divine  in  him  had  fellowship 
with  that  which  was  human  in  her.  His  soul  went  out 
to  her,  not  as  a  fire  to  consume,  but  as  a  purifying, 
flame.  This  experience  was  a  fit  prelude  to  his  now 
opening  public  life.  It  was  the  text  from  which  flowed 
two  distinguishing  elements  of  his  ministry,  —  sym- 
pathy for  mankind,  and  the  tenderest  compassion  for 
those  who  have  sinned  and  stumbled.  It  revealed 
God's  heart,  sent  the  prophetic  beam  of  reconciliation 
to  each  soul,  and  was  the  promise  of  that  one  family  in 


250  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

Christ  Jesus  that  was  to  comj^rise  every  nation  and 
peoj^le  on  the  globe. 

It  has  been  objected  to  this  narrative,  that  it  is  not 
probable  that  Jesus  would  have  gone  into  such  profound 
discourse  with  a  woman,  a  stranger,  not  capable  of  un- 
derstanding his  meaning,  and  wholly  unworthy,  in  any 
point  of  view,  of  receiving  such  attention.  It  cer- 
tainly is  not  probable,  if  we  reason  according  to  the 
common  tendencies  of  human  nature.  Men  reserve 
their  fine  speeches  for  fine  men,  and  their  philosophy 
for  philosophers.  Had  the  mission  of  Christ  followed 
human  notions,  it  would  have  differed  in  every  partic- 
ular from  its  real  history.  But  certainly  this  elevated 
doctrine  delivered  to  the  light-living  woman  of  Sama- 
ria is  m  strict  analogy  with  the  other  acts  of  Jesus. 
Modern  critics  are  not  the  first  to  make  such  objections 
to  his  career.  His  contemporaries  reproached  him  for 
this  very  thing,  namely,  consorting  with  publicans  and 
sinners,  and  he  made  the  noble  reply,  "  I  came  not  to 
call  the  righteous,  but  sinners,  to  repentance."  If  to 
any  this  familiarity  seems  discordant  and  repulsive, 
they  have  occasion  to  look  well  to  their  own  hearts. 
Such  a  course  would  be  apt  to  offend  pride  and  spirit- 
ual conceit;  it  could  not  but  harmonize  with  a  spirit 
of  pure  benevolence. 

It  is  interesting  to  contrast  these  two  conversations 
of  Jesus,  that  with  Nicodemus  and  that  with  the  name- 
less woman  of  Samaria.  Nicodemus  was  a  man  of 
rank  and  consideration ;  iha  woman  was  of  the  lower 
order  of  an  outcast  people.  He  was  cultivated,  reflec- 
tive, and  eminently  moral ;  she  was  ignorant,  unspirit- 
ual,  and  unvirtuous.  Far  apart  as  they  were  in  all 
extenud  proprieties,  both  of  them  had  been  caught  in 


THE  LESSON  AT  JACOBS   WELL.  251 

the  snare  of  selfishness.  He  had  bnilfc  up  a  life  for 
himself,  and  she  for  herself  He  was  selfish  throna;h 
his  intellectual  and  moral  nature,  and  she  through  her 
senses  and  passions.  Outwardly  they  were  far  aj)art ; 
as  a  member  of  society  she  fell  sadly  below  him  ;  but 
in  the  sight  of  God  both  were  alike  sinful.  It  was 
not  needful  to  argue  this  with  her ;  conscience  already 
condemned  her.  But  to  Nicodemus  it  was  necessary 
to  say,  "  Ye  must  be  born  again."  He  was  probably 
more  surj)rised  at  the  truth  when  he  understood  its 
spiritual  meaning  than  when  he  stumbled  at  it  as  a 
physiological  proposition.  There  is  but  one  message 
to  the  high  and  to  the  low.  All  are  crude,  undevel- 
oped, sinful.  Only  by  the  Spirit  of  God  can  any  one 
rise  to  that  true  life,  whose  fruit  is  truth  and  purity, 
joy  and  peace. 

We  are  not  to  claim  originality  for  the  truths  dis- 
closed in  the  discourse  at  the  well.  The  spirituality  of 
God,  the  fact  that  religion  is  an  affection  of  the  soul, 
and  not  a  routine  of  action,  —  that  God  is  a  universal 
God,  the  same  everywhere,  accessible  to  all  of  every 
nation  without  other  labor  than  that  of  lifting  up  pure 
thoughts  to  him,  and  that  he  dwells  in  heaven  yet  is 
present  everywhere,  so  that  no  one  need  seek  him  on 
the  high  mountain,  nor  in  any  special  temple,  but  may 
find  him  near,  in  their  very  hearts,  —  this  was  taught  by 
all  the  prophets,  —  by  Samuel  as  really  as  by  Isaiah, 
by  Moses  as  clearly  as  by  his  successors. 

But  the  knowledge  was  practically  lost.  If  the 
clearer  minds  of  a  few  discerned  it,  yet  it  was  to  the 
many  indistinct,  being  veiled,  and  even  buried,  by 
the  ritual,  the  priestly  offices,  and  the  superstitious 
sanctity  given  to  temples  and  altars.     Men  felt  that 


252  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

in  some  mysterious  Wcay  they  derived  a  fitness  to 
approach  God  by  what  the  altar,  the  priest,  or  the 
influences  of  tlie  sacred  place  did  for  them.  That  a 
holy  God  demanded  purity  in  those  who  aj)proached 
him,  they  knew ;  but  they  did  not  realize  that  he  him- 
self purified  by  his  very  presence  those  who  came  to 
him. 

The  filial  relationship  of  every  human  heart  to  God 
did  not  enter  the  moral  consciousness  of  men  until 
they  learned  it  in  Jesus  Christ.  In  hun  every  man 
became  a  priest,  his  heart  an  altar,  and  his  love  and 
obedience  the  only  offerings  required.  Men  were 
loosed  from  the  ministration  of  ordinances,  of  rituals, 
of  days,  moons,  and  the  whole  paraphernalia  of  a 
gorgeous  and  laborious  external  system,  and  hence- 
forth the  poor,  the  untaught,  the  sinful,  had  a  God 
near  at  hand  and  easy  of  access.  He  was  no  longer 
to  be  regarded  as  a  monarch,  but  as  a  Father.  No 
longer  was  it  to  be  taught  that  he  reigned  to  levy 
exactions,  but  to  pour  boundless  treasure  out  of  his 
own  heart  upon  the  needy.  God  sought  those  who 
before  sought  him.  The  priest  stood  no  nearer  to  God 
than  the  humblest  peasant.  God  was  as  near  to  the 
Magdalen  as  to  the  Virgin  Mary.  He  was  presented 
to  the  heart  and  imagination  as  the  great  Helper. 

The  qualification  for  approach  to  him  was  simply 
NEED.  They  stood  nearest  to  Divine  mercy  that 
needed  most. 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  253 


CHAPTER  XII. 

EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE. 

Bad  as  the  Samaritans  were  esteemed  to  be  by  the 
Jews,  they  excelled  the  people  of  Jerusalem  both  m 
cordial  reception  of  the  truth  and  in  hospitality.  There 
is  no  narrative  of  Christ's  words  or  actions  during  the 
two  days  which  he  was  persuaded  to  tarry  in  Samaria, 
but  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  his  teachings  from  the 
conversations  held  with  Nicodemus  and  with  the  Wo- 
man at  the  Well.  The  lost  discourses  of  Jesus  were  far 
more  numerous  than  those  which  have  been  preserved, 
and  one  cannot  refrain  from  regret  that  so  much  in- 
imitable teaching  served  but  the  purpose  of  the  hour, 
and  passed  out  of  mind  without  an  authentic  memorial. 

Leaving  Samaria,  he  bent  his  steps  toward  Galilee 
as  toward  a  shelter.  Although  it  was  like  drawing  near 
to  his  home,  yet  his  original  home,  Nazareth,  seems 
never  to  have  had  attractions  for  him,  or  to  have  de- 
served his  regard.  He  gave  as  a  reason  for  not  return- 
ing there,  that  a  "prophet  hath  no  honor  in  his  own 
country."  But  he  was  cordially  received  in  other  parts 
of  Galilee.  The  echo  of  his  doings  in  Jerusalem  had 
come  down  to  the  provinces.  Many  Jews  from  this 
region  had  been  at  Jerusalem,  and  had  both  heard  him 
and  seen  his  works.  What  was  probably  more  to  the 
purpose,  they  had  heard  the  opinions  of  the  chief  men 
of  the  Temple,  who,  though  in  watchful  suspense,  were 


254  TEE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,    THE   CHRIST. 

hoping  that  he  might  prove  to  be  the  longed  for  Leader 
and  Deliverer.  The  tacit  approval  of  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  of  Jerusalem  would  go  far  with  the  devout 
provincial  Jews. 

Probably  attracted  by  the  cordiality  of  friends  in 
Cana,  wdiere  he  had  wrought  his  first  miracle,  Jesus 
repaired  thither.  But  he  had  now  become  a  celebrity. 
It  was  known  in  all  the  region  that  he  had  returned 
from  Jerusalem.  And  here  we  come  upon  one  of  those 
striking  scenes  of  which  we  shall  see  so  manj^  during 
his  career,  —  pictures  they  seem,  rather  than  histo- 
ries. Out  of  the  nameless  crowd  some  strikins*  fio-ure 
emerges,  —  a  ruler,  a  centurion,  a  maniac,  a  foreign 
woman.  Under  the  eye  of  Christ  these  personages 
glow  for  a  moment  with  intense  individuality,  and  then 
sink  back  into  obscurity.  No  history  precedes  them ; 
no  after  account  of  them  is  given.  Like  the  pictures 
wdiich  the  magic  lantern  throws  upon  the  screen,  they 
seem  to  come  from  the  air  and  to  melt  again  into 
nothing  ;  and  yet,  while  they  remain,  every  line  is 
distinct  and  every  color  intense. 

Such  a  picture  is  that  afforded  by  the  courtier  of 
Capernaum.  A  "  nobleman "  he  is  miscalled  in  the 
English  version ;  probably  he  was  only  a  house-officer 
under  Herod  Antipas,  but  with  some  pretensions  to 
influence.  In  common  Avith  others,  he  had  heard  of 
Jesus ;  and,  as  rumor  always  exaggerates,  he  doubtless 
supposed  that  the  new  prophet  had  ^^erformed  more 
cures  than  at  that  time  he  had  done.  This  oihcer,  who 
would  at  other  times  have  listened  to  Jesus  only  as  a 
fashionable  man  would  listen  to  a  wandering  magician, 
for  the  diversion  of  a  spare  moment,  had  a  son  Ij'ing 
at  the  point  of  death  with  a  fever,  —  that  plague  of 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  255 

C;;pernaum.  Sorrow  makes  men  sincere,  and  ano-iiish 
makes  them  earnest.  The  courtier  sought  out  this 
Jesus ;  and  as  in  critical  danger  the  proudest  men  are 
suppliant  to  the  physician,  so  he  "  besought  hhn  that 
he  would  come  down  and  heal  his  son."  To  heal  that 
boy  was  easy ;  yet,  as  if  the  boon  were  far  too  small 
for  the  generosity  of  his  heart,  Jesus  purposed  not  only 
to  restore  the  child  to  his  parent,  but  to  send  back  a 
mor€  excellent  fither  to  the  child.  And  so,  that  he 
might  awaken  his  better  nature  and  prepare  him  to 
receive  the  bounty,  not  as  a  m-atter  of  course  but 
as  a  gift  of  God,  he  dealt  with  his  petitioner  as  fond 
parents  do  with  their  children,  when  they  excite  their 
eagerness  and  their  pleasure  by  holding  the  coveted 
gift  above  their  reach,  and  cause  them  to  vibrate  be- 
tween desire  and  doubt.  "Except  ye  see  signs  and 
wonders,  ye  will  not  believe." 

The  mere  thought  of  losing  his  boy  through  an  un- 
believing spirit  seemed  to  touch  the  father's  very 
heart,  and  without  protestations  he  showed  his  faith 
by  bursting  out  into  an  agony  of  imperious  persuasion : 
"  Sir,  come  down  ere  my  child  die  ! " 

It  was  enough.  The  fountain  was  stirred.  Jesus 
did  better  than  he  was  asked.  Instead  of  going  to 
Capernaum,  twenty-five  miles  distant,  his  spirit  darted 
healing  power,  and  he  dismissed  the  believing  parent : 
"Go  thy  way;  thy  son  livetli." 

That  the  father  believed  truly  is  plain  in  that  he 
accepted  the  word  without  a  doubt,  and  turned  home- 
ward with  all  haste,  as  one  who  fears  no  evil.  It  was 
about  one  o'clock  when  the  conference  with  Christ 
took  place  ;  and  the  next  day  in  the  afternoon,  as  he 
was  on  the  road,  his   servants  met  him  with   "Thy 


256  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

son  liveth/'  and  upon  inquiry  they  informed  him  that 
"yesterday  at  the  seventh  hour  the  fever  left  him." 
This  is  the  more  remarkable,  because  it  departed  in 
the  very  heat  and  glow  of  the  day,  as  well  as  at  the 
very  hour  when  Jesus  said,  "  Thy  son  liveth."  From 
that  moment  the  courtier  became  a  believing  discij^le, 
and  with  him  his  whole  household.  Thus  the  passing 
sickness  of  one  is  blessed  to  the  spiritual  restoration 
of  a  whole  family.  Sorrows  are  often  precursors  of 
mercy.  Those  are  blessed  troubles  which  bring  Christ 
to  us.  But  for  that  boy's  deathly  sickness,  the  father 
might  have  missed  his  own  immortality.  By  it  he 
saved  his  own  soul  and  the  souls  of  his  household,  and 
not  only  recovered  his  son,  but  dwells  with  him  eter- 
nally. For  "  himself  believed,  and  his  whole  house."  ^ 
But  the  time  must  come  when  Jesus  should  preach 
in  the  town  where  his  childhood  and  much  of  his 
early  manhood  were  spent.  Not  long  after  this  act  of 
mercy  to  the  servant  of  Herod,  Jesus  came  to  Nazareth. 
On  the  Sabbath  he  entered  the  synagogue  familiar  to 
him  from  his  youth.  The  scene  which  took  j^lace  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  this  period  of  his  his- 

^  Many  commentators  have  supposed  that  this  incident  is  the  same  as 
that  recorded  by  Matthew  and  Luke.  (Matt.  viii.  5  - 13  ;  Luke  vii.  1-10.) 
But  the  differences  are  utterly  irreconcilable.  In  one  case  it  was  a  Roman 
centurion,  in  the  other  an  officer  of  Herod's  household,  that  solicited  Christ's 
interference.  The  courtier's  son  was  sick ;  the  centurion's  servant.  The 
centurion  sent  the  elders  of  the  Jews  to  Jesus ;  the  courtier  came  himself. 
Tlie  courtier  besought  Christ  to  come  to  his  house,  but  his  child  was  healed 
from  a  distance  ;  Jesus  oflered  to  go  to  the  centurion's  house,  but,  with  ex- 
treme humility,  that  officer  declared  himself  unworthy  of  such  a  guest,  and 
besought  him,  with  a  striking  military  figure,  to  heal  his  servant  by  a  word. 
Tlie  points  of  resemblance  are  few,  and  such  as  might  easily  occur  whore  so 
mnny  miracles  were  wrought.  The  divergences  are  so  marked  that  to  make 
the  cases  one  and  the  same  would  introduce  difficulties  where  none  really 
exist,  except  hi  the  imagination  of  commentators. 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  257 

tory.  His  life  was  imperilled  in  an  unlocked  for 
uproar  which  broke  out  in  the  synagogue  when  he  was 
conducting  the  service.  For  the  Jewish  synagogue 
had  no  ordained  and  regular  minister ;  the  ruler,  and 
in  his  absence  the  elders,  twelve  of  whom  sat  upon  the 
platform  where  the  reading-desk  was  placed,  called 
from  the  congregation  any  person  of  suitable  age  and 
character  who  could  read  fluently  and  expound  with 
propriety  the  lessons  of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.^ 

*  We  quote  a  brief  extract  fi-om  Kitto's  Biblical  Cydopcedia  (Art. 
"  Synagogue,"  by  Christian  D.  Ginsburg),  to  illustrate  tbe  reading  of  the 
Scrijitures  by  Christ :  — 

"  To  give  unity  and  harmony  to  the  worship,  as  well  as  to  enable  the 
congi'egation  to  take  part  in  the  responses,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to 
have  one  who  should  lead  the  worship.  Hence,  as  soon  as  the  legal  number 
required  for  public  worship  had  assembled,  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  or 
in  his  absence  the  elders,  delegated  one  of  the  congregation  to  go  up  before 
the  ark  to  conduct  divine  service. 

"  The  function  of  the  apostle  of  the  ecclesia  was  not  permanently  vested 
in  any  single  individual  ordained  for  this  purpose,  but  was  alternately  con- 
feiTcd  upon  any  lay  member  who  was  supposed  to  possess  the  qualifications 
necessary  for  offering  up  prayer  in  the  name  of  the  congregation.  This  is 
evident  from  the  reiterated  declarations  both  in  the  Mishna  and  the  Talmud. 

"  Thus  we  are  told  that  any  one  who  is  not  under  thirteen  years  of  age, 
and  whose  garments  are  not  in  rags,  may  officiate  before  the  ark ;  that  '  if 
one  is  before  the  ark  (ministers  for  the  congregation),  and  makes  a  mistake 
(in  the  prayer),  another  one  is  to  minister  in  his  stead,  and  he  is  not  to 
decline  it  on  such  an  occasion.'  '  The  sages  have  transmitted  that  he  who 
is  asked  to  conduct  public  worship  is  to  delay  a  little  at  first,  saying  that  he 
is  unworthy  of  it ;  and  if  he  does  not  delay  he  is  like  unto  a  dish  wherein  is 
no  salt,  and  if  he  delays  more  than  is  necessary  he  is  like  unto  a  dish  which 
the  salt  hath  spoiled.' 

"  How  is  he  to  do  it  ?  The  first  time  he  is  asked,  he  is  to  decline  ;  the 
second  time,  he  is  to  stir ;  and  the  third  time,  he  is  to  move  his  legs  and 
ascend  before  the  ark.  Even  on  the  most  solemn  occasions,  when  the  whole 
congregation  fasted  and  assembled  with  the  president  and  vice-president  of 
the  Sanhedrim  for  national  humiliation  and  prayer,  no  stated  minister  is 
spoken  of;  but  it  is  said  that  one  of  the  aged  men  present  is  to  deliver  a 
penitential  address,  and  another  is  to  offer  up  the  solemn  prayers. 

''  It  was  afterwards  ordained  that,  '  even  if  an  elder  or  sage  is  present  in 
17 


258  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

On  the  morning  of  the  Sabbath  referred  to,  Jesus 
was  called  to  conduct  the  service.  After  the  litur- 
gical services  were  finished,  which  consisted  of  Psalms 
and  prayers,  said  and  chanted  responsively  by  the 
reader  and  the  congregation,  he  proceeded  to  read  the 
lesson  for  the  day  from  the  Prophets.  It  so  happened 
that  Isaiah  was  read,  and  the  portion  for  the  day  con- 
tained these  remarkable  words,  mainly  as  rendered  in 
the  Septuagint :  — 

"  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, 
Because  he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor; 
He  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted, 
To  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives. 
And  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind, 
To  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised, 
To  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord." 

To  understand  the  force  of  these  words,  one  must 
read  the  context  in  the  sixtieth  chapter  of  Isaiah,  and 
consider  that  it  is  the  culmination  of  all  the  glowing 
promises  of  this  great  prophet  respecting  the  Messiah. 
When  Jesus  had  finished  reading  and  had  shut  the 
book,  there  seems  to  have  come  over  him  a  change 
such  as  his  countenance  often  assumed.  Before  he 
uttered  a  word  further,  such  was  his  appearance  that 
"  the  eyes  of  all  them  that  were  in  the  synagogue  were 
fastened  on  him."  Nor  was  the  wonder  decreased  when 
he  broke  silence,  saying,  "This  day  is  this  scripture 
fulfilled  in  your  ears."      There  must  have  been  not 

the  congregation,  he  is  not  to  be  asked  to  officiate  before  the  ark,  but  that 
man  is  to  be  delegated  who  is  apt  to  officiate,  who  has  children,  whose 
family  are  free  from  vice,  who  has  a  proper  beard,  whose  garments  are 
decent,  who  is  acceptable  to  the  people,  who  has  a  good  and  amiable  voice, 
who  understands  how  to  read  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Hagiogi-apha, 
who  is  versed  in  the  homiletic,  legal,  and  traditional  exegesis,  and  who 
knows  all  the  benedictions  of  the  service.' " 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  259 

only  great  majesty  in  his  manner,  but  also  great  sweet- 
ness, for  a  thrill  went  through  the  audience,  and  they 
all  "bare  him  witness,  and  wondered  at  the  gracious 
words  which  j)roceeded  out  of  his  mouth":  nothing 
could  so  touch  the  Jewish  heart  as  an  intimation  that 
the  Messiah  was  near  or  was  come. 

It  was  but  a  transient  feeling,  more  a  testimony  to 
the  power  of  him  who  was  teaching  than  to  their  own 
docility ;  for  in  a  moment  more  it  came  over  the  con- 
gregation, that,  after  all,  this  was  but  their  old  to"\Yns- 
man.  Their  vanity  was  wounded,  and  the  more  vulgar 
among  them  began  to  whisper,  "Is  not  this  Joseph's 
son  ? "  "  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son  ?  "  Others 
confirmed  it,  for  "  Is  not  his  mother  called  Mary  ? " 
Everybody  knew  him  and  his  family,  and  the  poor 
way  in  which  they  had  always  lived.  They  knew  "  his 
brethren,  James  and  Joses  and  Simon  and  Judas,  and 
his  sisters."  Out  of  such  a  common  set  it  was  not 
likely  that  a  prophet  would  arise,  particularly  when 
it  was  known  how  httle  education  Jesus  had  received. 
Where  did  he  get  his  learning?  How  should  our 
plain  townsman  be  able  to  do  the  mighty  works  that 
we  have  heard  of  his  performing  ?  "  Whence  hath 
this  man  this  wisdom?" 

Jesus  did  not  resent  their  unfavorable  speeches  con- 
cerning his  mother  and  her  family.  Had  he  chosen, 
he  could  have  made  his  townsmen  enthusiastic  in  liis 
behalf,  by  doing  some  "  mighty  work "  which,  making 
Nazareth  famous,  would  give  every  one  of  his  old  neigh- 
bors some  participation  in  its  glory.  But  already  pride 
and  vanity  were  their  bane.  It  was  better  that  they 
should  be  mortified,  and  not  inflated  still  more.  Jesus 
perceived  their  spirit,  and  revealed  it  in  his  reply: 


260  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   TEE   CHRIST. 

'^  Ye  will  surely  say  unto  me  this  proverb,  Physician, 
heal  thyself:  whatsoever  we  have  heard  done  in  Ca- 
pernaum, do  also  here  in  thy  country."  That  is.  You 
do  not  care  for  me,  or  for  the  truth ;  but  you  are  jeal- 
ous of  a  neighboring  town,  and  angry  because  I  do  not 
make  as  much  of  Nazareth  as  of  Capernaum.  You 
think  that  I  am  not  a  Divine  teacher  because  I  pass 
by  my  o^^^l  to^\'n.  But  thus  God  often  administers. 
He  passed  by  the  whole  Jewish  nation,  when,  during 
the  great  famine,  by  his  prophet  Elijah  he  held  com- 
munion with  a  Phoenician  widow,  though  there  was 
many  a  Hebrew  widow  in  the  land.  Also  he  passed 
by  the  thousands  of  lepers  in  that  region,  and  healed 
a  Syrian,  Naaman,  who  was  at  that  very  time  chief  offi- 
cer to  a  heathen  king  holding  Israel  in  subjugation. 

These  words  were  like  flame  upon  stubble.  The 
love  of  country  among  the  Jews  was  a  fanaticism. 
It  carried  with  it  a  burning  hatred  of  foreigners,  as 
heathen,  which  no  prudence  could  restrain.  Every 
year  this  ferocious  sjoirit  broke  out,  and  was  23ut  doAvn 
by  the  slaughter  of  hundreds  and  thousands  of  Jews. 
It  made  no  difference.  Like  the  internal  fires  of  the 
globe,  it  burned  on,  even  when  no  eruption  made  it 
manifest.  The  historical  facts  alleged  could  not  be 
gainsaid  ;  but  the  use  of  them  to  show  that  God  cared 
for  other  nations,  even  at  the  expense  of  the  Jews, 
produced  a  burst  of  uncontrollable  fury.  The  meeting 
broke  up  in  a  fierce  tumult.  Jesus  was  seized  by  the 
enraged  crowd  that  went  shouting  through  the  street, 
and  hurried  toward  one  of  the  many  jjrecipitous  ledges 
of  the  mountainous  hill  on  whose  sides  Nazareth  was 
built,  that  they  might  cast  him  down  headlong.  They 
were  dragging  him  hastily  onward,  when,  behold,  the 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  261 

men  let  go  their  hold,  and  no  one  dared  to  brave  his 
eye.  "Passing  through  the  midst  ofthem,  he  went  his 
way."  1 

It  may  seem  to  be  not  in  accordance  with  the  mani- 
fest prudence  of  Jesus  to  bring  on  an  attack  by  such 
pungent  discourse  in  his  own  town,  when  he  had  just 
left  Judaea  on  account  of  the  danger  of  collision  with 
the  leading  men,  and  had  taken  refuge  in  Galilee  as 
being  safer,  and  as  affording  him  opportunity  to  unfold 
the  great  spiritual  truths  which  carried  the  world's  life 
in  them.  Where  and  when  he  should  preach  were 
certainly  matters  of  discretion ;  but  tchat  he  should 
preach  could  not  be  left  to  expediency.  That  his 
truth  would  be  disagreeable  to  his  hearers,  and  provoke 
opposition,  never  deterred  hun  from  pungent  personal 
discourse.  If  the  resistance  was  such  as  to  be  likely 
to  bring  his  ministry  prematurely  to  an  end,  he  re- 
moved to  some  other  place,  but  did  not  change  the 
searching  character  of  his  teaching.  The  outburst  of 
wounded  vanity  and  of  fanatical  religious  zeal  among 
his  ignorant  and  turbulent  fellow-townsmen  would 
have  little  effect  outside  of  Nazareth.  Such  an  uproar 
in  Jerusalem  might  have  driven  him  from  Judcea,  and 
even  from  Palestine.     Nazareth  was  not  Jerusalem. 

Much  question  has  arisen  respecting  the  position  of 

^  This  scene  is  given  by  Luke  (iv.  16  -  30)  and  by  Matthew  (xiii.  53-58). 
Many  commentators  regard  these  as  separate  occasions,  placing  the  scene 
as  given  by  Matthew  much  Later  in  the  history.  It  seems  scarcely  possible 
that  two  visits  should  have  been  made  to  Nazareth,  not  only  with  the  same 
general  results,  but  with  questions  and  answers  almost  identical ;  especially 
that  the  proverb  used  by  Jesus  in  reply  to  his  envious  townsmen  should 
serve  both  occasions.  There  are  no  difficulties  which  compel  the  harmonist 
to  make  two  separate  scenes  of  this  kind,  and  every  probability  requires 
them  to  be  the  same ;  though,  in  narration,  each  Evangelist,  as  would  be 
natural,  gives  some  particulars  omitted  by  the  other. 


262  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

the  declivity  toward  which  the  enraged  Jews  were 
bearing  Jesus.  From  the  modern  village,  it  is  two 
miles  to  the  precipice  which  overhangs  the  valley  of 
Esdraelon.  Thomson  says  that  near  to  this  precipice 
his  guide  pointed  out  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  village 
of  Nazareth,  which  in  that  case  was  much  farther  south 
than  the  present  site.  But  the  point  is  not  essential. 
Nazareth  is  built  upon  the  side  of  a  mountainous  ridge, 
which,  wherever  the  ancient  village  was  placed,  —  for 
it  was  but  a  hamlet, — furnishes  enough  places  for  the 
purpose  intended  by  the  Nazarenes.  It  was  not  for 
landscape  effect,  but  for  an  execution,  that  the  crowd 
were  looking  for  a  ledge,  and  twenty  feet  was  as  good 
for  such  a  purpose  as  fifty;  especially  if  the  plunge 
were  followed  by  stones,  —  a  method  of  terminating  a 
discussion  with  which  the  Jews  were  quite  familiar.^ 

If  we  regard  the  three  accounts  of  the  transaction  at 
Nazareth  as  referring  to  the  same  visit,  it  is  plain  that 
Jesus  did  not  leave  the  village  immediately.  We  are 
not  obliged  to  suppose  that  he  escaped  from  the  mur- 
derous hands  of  his  townsmen  by  a  miracle.     Some 

^  W.  H-  Dixon,  in  The  Holy  Land,  gives  a  striking  view  of  Nazareth :  — 
"  Four  miles  south  of  the  strong  Greek  city  of  Saphoris,  hidden  away 
among  gentle  hills,  then  covered  from  the  base  to  the  crown  with  vineyards 
and  fig-trees,  lay  a  natural  nest,  or  basin,  of  rich  red  and  white  earth, 
star-like  in  shape,  about  a  mile  in  width,  and  wondrously  fertile.  Along  the 
scarred  and  chalky  slope  of  the  highest  of  these  hills  spread  a  small  and 
lovely  village,  which,  in  a  land  where  every  stone  seemed  to  have  a  story,  is 
remarkable  as  having  had  no  public  history  and  no  distinguishable  native 
name.  No  great  road  led  up  to  this  sunny  nook.  No  traffic  came  into  it. 
Trade,  war,  adventure,  pleasui'e,  pomp,  passed  by  it,  flowing  from  west  to 
east,  from  east  to  west,  along  the  Roman  road.  But  the  meadows  were 
aglow  with  wheat  and  barley.  Near  the  low  ground  ran  a  belt  of  gardens 
fenced  with  loose  stones,  in  which  myriads  of  green  figs,  red  pomegranates, 
and  golden  citrons  ripened  in  the  summer  sun.  High  up  the  slopes,  which 
were  Uued  and  planted  like  the  Rhine  at  Bingen,  hung  vintages  of  purple 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  263 

have  believed  that  he  became  invisible ;  or  that  he 
changed  his  appearance,  so  that  the  people  did  not 
recoo-nize  him ;  or  that  he  melted  like  a  cloud  out  of 
their  hands. 

The  language  of  Luke  is,  "  But  he,  passing  through 
the  midst  of  them,  went  his  way."  That  Jesus  at  times 
assumed  an  air  of  such  grandeur  that  men  were  awe- 
struck, and  could  not  bear  either  his  eye  or  his  voice, 
we  know.  The  hardened  soldiers  that  went  to  Geth- 
semane  to  arrest  him  fell  to  the  ground  when  he  con- 
fronted them.  There  are  many  instances  of  this  power 
of  his  person  to  make  men  quail.  (See  Chapter  VII.) 
We  are  inclined  to  the  supposition,  that  Jesus  assumed 
a  manner  of  such  authority  that  even  the  riotous  crowd 
let  fall  their  hands,  and  that  he  walked  quietly  away 
from  out  of  their  midst. 

This  unhappy  visit  to  Nazareth  was  the  last.  He 
could  not  there  bestow  the  mercies  which  doubtless 
he  would  have  conferred  upon  a  spot  that  must  have 
been  endeared  to  him  by  a  thousand  associations  and 
experiences  of  youth,  and  where,  according  to  Mark, 

grapes.  In  the  plain  among  the  corn,  and  beneath  the  mulberry-trees  and 
figs,  shone  daisies,  poppies,  tulips,  lilies,  anemones,  endless  in  their  pro- 
fusion, brilliant  in  their  dyes.  Low  down  on  the  hillside  sprang  a  well  of 
water,  bubbling,  plentiful,  and  sweet ;  and  above  this  fountain  of  life,  in  along 
street  straggling  from  the  fountain  to  the  synagogue,  rose  the  homesteads 
of  many  shepherds,  craftsmen,  and  vine-dressers.  It  was  a  lovely  and 
humble  place,  of  which  no  poet,  no  ruler,  no  historian  of  Israel  had  ever 
taken  note." 

It  need  scarcely  be  said,  that,  except  the  hills  and  terraces  and  the 
fountain,  there  is  nothing  now  in  or  about  Nazareth  that  could  have  been 
there  in  Christ's  youth.  The  legends  that  abound  resijecting  his  infancy 
and  youth  are  unworthy  of  a  moment's  consideration.  Over  the  youth  of 
Christ,  in  Nazareth,  there  rests  a  silence  far  more  impressive  than  anything 
which  the  imagination  can  frame,  and  on  which  the  puerile  legends  break 
with  impertinent  intrusion. 


264  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

his  sisters  yet  dwelt.  "And  are  not  his  sisters  here 
with  us?"  (Mark  vi.  3.)  The  temper  of  this  peoi^le 
repelled  his  gracious  offers  of  kindness.  It  is  true  that 
"he  laid  his  hand  upon  a  few  sick  folk,  and  healed 
them."  But  we  may  easily  believe  that  he  would  have 
been  glad  to  make  Nazareth  a  monument  of  benefac- 
tions. A  year  had  passed  since  his  baptism  by  John. 
Already  he  had  experience  of  the  unbelieving  temper 
of  his  age  and  countrymen ;  but  there  was  something 
in  the  fierceness  and  repulsive  manners  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen  that  surpassed  all  ordinary  experience,  "  and 
he  marvelled  because  of  their  unbelief" 

Capernaum  henceforth  became  his  home,  in  so  far  as 
he  can  be  said  to  have  had  a  home  at  all  during  the 
year  now  before  him,  and  which  was  the  great  period 
of  his  activity.  For  the  ministry  of  Christ  covered  but 
a  little  more  than  two  years,  and  his  chief  labor  was 
compressed  into  a  single  one.^ 

From  this  time  Jesus  seems  either  to  have  lived  in 
retirement  for  about  two  months,  or,  if  he  carried  for- 
ward his  work  of  teaching,  no  allusion  is  made  to  it 
by  any  of  the  Evangelists.  But  in  March  of  this  year 
he  goes  again  to  Jerusalem,  probably  to  the  Feast  of 
Purim,  —  a  feast  instituted  to  keep  in  remembrance 
the  great  deliverance  which  the  Jews  in  captivity  re- 
ceived at  the  hands  of  Esther.^ 

^  "  The  ministry  of  our  Lord  would  seem  to  liave  lasted  about  two  years 
and  three  months,  i.  e.  from  his  baptism,  at  the  close  of  27  A.  D.  (780 
A.  U.  C.)  or  beginning  of  28  A.  D.  to  the  last  Passover  in  30  A.  D.  The 
opinions  on  this  subject  have  been  apparently  as  much  divided  in  ancient 

as  in  modern  times The  general  feeling  of  antiquity  was,  that  our 

Lord's  entire  ministry  lasted  for  a  period,  sjieaking  roughly,  of  about  three 
years,  but  that  the  more  active  part  ....  lasted  one." —  Ellicott's  Lec- 
tures on  the  Life  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  (Boston,  1862,)  p.  145,  note. 

'  John  simply  says  that  it  was  a  "  feast  of  the  Jews."    It  might  be,  there- 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  265 

This  visit  of  Jesus  to  Jerusalem  was  memorable,  not 
only  for  the  beneficent  miracles  of  mercy  wrought  by 
him  there,  but  for  the  decided  alienation  of  the  Phari- 
sees, and  the  beginning  on  their  part  of  that  deadly 
hatred  which  little  more  than  a  year  afterwards  accom- 
plished his  crucifixion. 

Jesus  was  not,  like  the  Kabbis,  accustomed  to  hold 
himself  apart  from  the  common  people,  and  to  show 
himself  only  to  admiring  disciples.  There  are  many 
indications  that  he  moved  about  inquiringly  among  the 
poor,  and  made  himself  familiar  with  their  necessities. 
He  shortened  the  distance  between  himself  and  the 
plain  common  people  as  much  as  possible.  It  was  in 
one  of  these  walks  of  mercy  that  he  came  one  Sabbath 
day  to  the  pool  of  Bethesda,  which  was  without  the 
walls  of  Jerusalem  and  near  to  the  Sheep  Gate  ;  but 
the  spot  is  not  now  known.  That  which  has  for  ages 
been  pointed  out  as  the  site  of  Bethesda  —  a  dry  reser- 
voir on  the  north  of  the  Temple  wall  —  is  now  given 
up.  This  "pool"  was  an  intermitting  fountain,  whose 
waters  were  supposed  to  be  healing,  if  used  at  the 
time  of  their  regurgitation.  Around  it,  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  sick,  had  been  built  a  colonnade,  or 
porch,  and  there  the  diseased  and  the  crippled  awaited 
their  chance  to  descend. 

It  was  to  just  such  places  that  Jesus  was  likely  to 

fore,  the  Dedication,  the  Feast  of  Purini,  the  Passover,  the  Pentecost,  or  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  which  fell,  respectively,  in  the  months  of  December, 
March,  April,  May,  and  September.  The  best  authorities  are  irreconcilably 
at  variance  as  to  which  "  feast "  is  meant ;  whichever  view  one  takes,  it  will 
be  only  conjecture,  rather  than  probability.  Certainty  there  is  none.  The 
value  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel  is  not  affected  by  the  utter  confusion  of 
chronologists.  The  consecutive  order  of  many  of  the  events  in  Christ's 
life  cannot  be  precisely  determined ;  but  this  does  not  change  their  moral 
worth,  nor  cast  any  suspicion  upon  their  authenticity. 


266  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

come ;  and  on  this  Sabbath  day  he  beheld  a  sufferer 
unable  to  help  himself  and  without  friends  to  assist 
him.  None  are  more  apt  to  be  selfish  than  the  sick. 
Each  one  seeks  his  own  cure,  and  is  indifferent  to  the 
sufferings  of  others.  This  man  had  brought  upon  him- 
self, by  some  course  of  dissipation,  the  evils  which  af- 
flicted him  (John  v.  14) ;  but  it  was  enough  that  he 
suffered.  Jesus  saluted  him  with  the  question,  "  Wilt 
thou  be  made  whole  ? "  and  the  man,  not  knowing 
the  stranger,  and  naturally  supposing  that  he  was 
asking  only  the  reason  of  his  delay  in  entering  the 
pool,  excused  himself  by  pleading  his  inability  to  con- 
tend with  the  scrambling  crowd  that  plunged  into  the 
waters  at  the  favored  moment.  As  yet  Jesus  was  but 
little  known.  He  had  neither  preached  in  Jerusalem, 
nor  wrought  miracles  in  any  such  public  way  as  to 
bring  his  Divine  power  clearly  before  men.  He  did 
not,  therefore,  require  the  exercise  of  faith  in  this 
cripple  as  a  condition  of  mercy.  He  surprised  him 
with  the  peremptory  command,  "  Rise  !  Take  up  thy 
bed,  and  Walk  !  "  Then  came  the  sudden  thrill  of 
health  !  The  cripple  had  been  bathed  in  no  fountain 
stirred  by  an  angel.  From  the  Fountain  of  life  had 
fallen  on  him  the  healing  influence.  His  amazement 
of  joy  must  be  imagined. 

Behold  him  now  with  nimble  step  ascending  to  the 
city  !  He  is  stopped.  What  is  it  ?  Why,  he  is  carry- 
ing with  him  his  bed !  He  has  forgotten  that  it  is  the 
Sabbath.  "  It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  carry  thy  bed." 
Was  an  Oriental  bed,  then,  so  large  as  to  make  an 
uncomely  appearance  upon  the  man's  shoulder  ?  No, 
it  was  but  a  pallet,  to  be  spread,  like  a  blanket,  on  the 
ground.     Kolled  up,  it  was  a  bundle  less  than  a  sol- 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  267 

dier's  overcoat,  and  could  be  carried  under  the  arm 
without  inconvenience.  But  it  was  the  Sabbath  day. 
A  Jew  might  play  on  the  Sabbath,  join  in  social  fes- 
tivity, grow  hilarious,  but  he  must  not  work ! 

There  is  no  evidence  that  Jesus  did  not  keep  the 
Sabbath  day  as  it  was  enjoined  in  the  Law  of  Moses. 
He  certainly  did  not  trample  it  under  foot,  nor  in  any 
way  undervalue  it.  It  was  against  the  glosses  of  the 
Pharisees  that  he  strove.  They  had  added  to  the  Law 
innumerable  explanations  which  were  deemed  as  bind- 
ing as  the  original.  The  Sabbath  day  had  become  a 
snare.  By  ingenious  constructions  and  by  stretch  of 
words  the  Jews  had  turned  it  into  a  day  of  bondage, 
and  made  it  a  monument  of  superstitions.  No  Jew 
must  kindle  a  fire  on  that  day,  nor  even  light  a  can- 
dle. A  conscientious  Jew  would  not  snuff  his  candle 
nor  put  fuel  upon  the  fire  on  the  Sabbath.  There  were 
thirty-nine  principal  occupations  which,  with  all  that 
were  analogous  to  them,  were  forbidden.  "  If  a  Jew 
go  forth  on  the  Friday,  and  on  the  night  falls  short  of 
home  more  than  is  lawful  to  be  travelled  on  the  Sab- 
bath day  (i.  e.  two  thousand  yards),  there  must  he  set 
him  down,  and  there  keep  his  Sabbath,  though  in  a 
wood,  or  in  a  field,  or  on  the  highway-side,  without  all 
fear  of  wind  and  weather,  of  thieves  and  robbers,  all 
care  of  meat  or  drink."  "  The  lame  may  use  a  staff, 
but  the  blind  may  not."  Not  being  indispensable,  for 
a  blind  man  to  carry  a  staff  would  come  under  the 
head  of  carrying  burdens  on  the  Sabbath.  "  Men  must 
not  fling  more  corn  to  their  poultry  than  will  serve 
that  day,  lest  it  may  grow  by  lying  still,  and  they  be 
said  to  sow  their  corn  upon  the  Sabbath."  "  They  may 
not  carry  a  flap  or  fan  to  drive  away  the  flies."  That 
would  be  a  species  of  labor. 


2G8  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  TEE  CHRIST. 

It  was  not  enough  that  every  device  was  seized  to 
prevent  formal  or  honest  labor,  but  there  was  joined 
to  this  rigor  an  ingenious  dishonesty.  "  To  carry  any- 
thing from  one  house  to  another  is  unlawful ;  l^ut  if 
the  householders  in  a  court  should  join  in  some  article 
of  food  and  deposit  it  in  a  certain  place,  the  whole 
court  becomes  virtually  one  dwelling,  and  the  inmates 
are  entitled  to  carry  from  house  to  house  whatever 
they  please."  "  It  is  unlawful  to  carry  a  handkerchief 
loose  in  the  pocket ;  but  if  they  pin  it  to  the  pocket, 
or  tie  it  round  the  waist  as  a  girdle,  they  may  carry  it 
anywhere."  Many  of  the  things  which  a  Jew  would 
by  no  means  suffer  himself  to  do  on  the  Sabbath,  such 
as  putting  fuel  on  the  fire,  or  performing  tasks  of  cook- 
ing, he  would  permit  a  Gentile  servant  to  do  for  him, 
if  he  were  rich  enough  to  employ  one,  inasmuch  as 
the  Gentiles  were  not  under  the  Law !  At  the  very 
time  that  the  Rabbis  were  devising  restrictions  on  the 
one  side,  they  were  shrewdly  outwitting  the  Law  by 
cunning  devices  on  the  other.  "A  Sabbath-day's 
journey "  was  two  thousand  paces,  measured  from 
one's  domicile.  But  by  depositing  food  at  the  end  of 
the  first  two  thousand  paces  on  a  previous  day,  and 
calling  that  place  a  domicile,  they  were  suffered  to  go 
forward  another  Sabbath-day's  journey.  Thus  super- 
stitious rigor  led  to  evasions  and  hypocrisy. 

But  this  strictness  was  not  exercised  for  the  sake  of 
keeping  the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  moral  instruction  and 
of  devotion.  For,  though  the  Temple  service  was 
more  full  on  that  day  than  on  ordinary  days,  and  there 
were  religious  services  in  the  synagogues,  yet  the  Sab- 
bath was  observed  on  the  whole  as  a  day  of  recreation 
and  social  enjoyment.     Feasts  were  given,  and  a  large 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  269 

hos23itality  was  exercised.  The  Jewish  Sabbath,  from 
the  days  of  Moses,  and  in  its  original  intent  and  spirit, 
was  as  much  a  day  of  social  pleasure  as  of  religious 
observance.  Boisterous  hilarity  was  disallowed,  and 
all  secular  work,  that  is,  toil  for  profit  of  every  kind, 
was  a  capital  offence.  It  was  upon  this  clause  that 
the  Pharisaic  ingenuity  had  run  into  fantastic  extrava- 
gances, and  a  day  originally  appointed  for  reasons  of 
mercy  had  become  a  burden  and  an  oppression. 

The  fortunate  man  who  had  been  healed  did  not, 
when  questioned,  even  know  to  whom  he  was  indebted. 
"  It  is  the  Sabbath  day,"  said  the  pious  townsmen ;  "  it 
is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  carry  thy  bed."  But  his  bet- 
ter nature  told  him  that  one  who  could  perform  such  a 
miracle  upon  him  stood  nearer  to  God,  and  was  more 
fit  to  be  obeyed,  than  the  men  of  the  Temple.  Brave- 
ly he  replied,  "  He  that  made  me  whole,  the  same  said 
unto  me.  Take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk."  But  afterward, 
having  met  Jesus  in  the  Temple,  he  let  it  be  known 
who  it  was  that  had  healed  him.  The  excitement  ran 
high.  So  enraged  were  the  Jews,  that  they  did  "  per- 
secute Jesus,  and  sought  to  slay  him."  Without  doubt, 
the  excitement  and  uproar  took  place  in  the  Temple 
court. 

It  has  been  thought,  and  with  reason,  that  Jesus 
was  arraigned  before  the  Sanhedrim,  if  not  formally, 
yet  in  a  hastily  convoked  meeting.  The  discourse  re- 
corded by  John  (v.  17-47)  could  scarcely  be  the  flow 
of  an  uninterrupted  speech.  It  bears  all  the  marks 
of  a  controversy.  It  is  broken  up  into  disconnected 
topics,  as  if  between  them  there  had  been  arguments 
and  answers,  or  some  taunting  retorts,  although  the 
Evangelist  has  not  presented  any  part  of  the  disputa- 


270  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

tion,  except  the  points  of  the  Lord's  replies.  To  the 
charge  of  breaking  the  Sabbath  by  working  a  miracle, 
Jesus  answers  with  an  allusion  to  God's  ceaseless  ac- 
tivity on  all  days  alike  ;  which,  even  were  it  not  the 
highest  truth,  would  be  the  noblest  poetry,  and  not  the 
less  emphatic  because  so  condensed,  — "  My  Father 
worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work." 

Why  should  I  forbear  on  the  Sabbath  to  do  good  ? 
Does  the  sun  cease  shining  ?  Do  rivers  stand  still  ? 
Do  the  grasses  not  grow,  and  fruits  ripen,  and  birds 
sing  ?  Does  Nature  keep  Sabbath  ?  Is  not  God  for- 
ever going  on  in  ceaseless  benefaction,  without  vari- 
ableness or  shadow  of  turning  ?  Is  it  not  lawful  for 
children  to  be  born  on  the  Sabbath  ?  for  medicine  to 
carry  forward  the  cure  ?  for  the  weak  to  grow  strong  ? 
Through  all  God's  realm  the  Sabbath  is  a  day  of  active 
mercy,  and  why  should  I  refuse  a  work  of  benevo- 
lence ? 

The  reply  was  unanswerable.  It  was  a  sublime  ap- 
peal from  the  rescripts  and  traditions  of  man  to  the 
authority  of  God.  Jesus  appealed  from  custom  to  na- 
ture. Evading  this  reply,  they  seized  upon  the  fact 
that  he  had  called  God  his  Father,  thus,  as  they  said, 
"making  himself  equal  with  God."  They  broke  out 
upon  him  with  truculent  fury,  and  sought  to  tear  him 
in  pieces.  Yet  by  some  means  the  storm  was  quieted. 
The  discourse  is  remarkable  in  every  respect,  but  in 
nothing  more  than  the  direct  assumption  of  Divine 
authority.  He  rises  above  all  conventional  grounds 
and  above  all  human  sanctions.  He  declares  that  he 
acts  with  the  direct  authority  of  God.  "  The  Son  can 
do  nothing  of  himself,  but  what  he  seeth  the  Father 
do."     Instead  of  explanation  and  apology  to  his  ac- 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  271 

cusers,  Jesus  boldly  claims  their  submission  to  his  au- 
thority !  "  The  Father  juclgeth  no  man,  but  hath  com- 
mitted all  judgment  to  the  Son :  that  all  men  should 
honor  the  Son,  even  as  they  honor  the  Father."  He 
now  drops  the  title  Son  of  Man,  which  he  had  always 
used  among  the  common  people,  because  it  drew  him  so 
near  to  them  and  made  them  and  him  of  one  kin,  and 
for  the  first  time  calls  himself  the  Son  of  God.  "  The 
hour  is  coming,  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God."  As  it  was  a  question 
of  authority  before  the  Sanhedrim,  he  places  himself  on 
grounds  above  all  reach  of  competition  or  of  compar- 
ison. He  not  only  does  not  acknowledge  their  right  to 
control  his  conscience,  but  he  declares  that  he  will  hold 
them  and  all  mankind  responsible  to  himself.  "  The 
hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves 
shall  hear  His  voice,  and  shall  come  forth ;  they  that 
have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life  ;  and  they 
that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damna- 
tion." 

The  members  of  the  court  must  have  looked  upon 
him  with  wonder  as  well  as  with  rage.  He  disowned 
the  whole  value  of  that  system  of  authority  on  which 
their  pride,  their  power,  and  their  ambition  were  built. 
He  refused  to  stand  before  them  as  a  culprit,  or  to 
be  catechised  as  a  scholar.  He  soared  to  the  highest 
heaven.  He  placed  himself  beside  God.  He  clothed 
himself  with  Divine  authority.  He  judged  his  judges, 
and  condemned  the  highest  tribunal  of  his  people. 
Instead  of  apologizing  for  his  deeds,  or  even  explaining, 
he  arraigned  the  Sanhedrim.  He  reminded  them  that 
for  a  time  they  had  been  disposed  to  accept  John  as  a 
prophet :   "  Ye  were  willing  for  a  season  to  rejoice  in 


272  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

his  light."  John  also  was  now  a  witness  for  Jesus. 
But  no  man  could  be  an  adequate  witness  of  his  nature 
and  authority.  Only  God  could  authenticate  these. 
By  his  miracles  he  showed  that  God  had  borne  witness 
to  him.  He  rebuked  them  for  gross  ignorance  of  those 
Scriptures  in  which  it  was  their  pride  and  boast  that 
they  were  profoundly  versed.  He  brings  home  to  them 
their  worldliness,  their  mutual  flatteries,  their  ambitions, 
their  poverty  of  love,  their  wealth  of  selfishness. 

Overawed,  their  tumultuous  anger  died,  and  Jesus 
went  forth  from  this  first  encounter  with  the  rulers  of 
his  people  safe  for  the  present,  but  a  marked  man,  to 
be  watched,  followed,  entrapped,  and,  when  the  favor- 
able moment  should  come,  to  be  slain. 

We  must  not  suppose  that  the  Pharisees  were  moved 
to  this  controversy  with  Jesus  from  any  moral  regard 
for  the  Sabbath.  It  was  simply  a  question  of  j^ower. 
To  attack  what  may  be  called  their  theology  of  the 
Sabbath  was  to  attack  the  most  salient  point  of  their 
religious  authority.  If  they  might  be  safely  defied 
before  the  people  on  this  ground,  there  was  no  use  in 
trying  to  maintain  their  authority  as  leaders  on  any 
other.  They  could  not  allow  themselves  to  look  upon 
Christ's  merciful  deed  in  the  light  of  humanity.  It  was 
to  them  a  political  act,  and  in  its  tendency  a  subver- 
sion of  their  teaching,  of  their  influence,  and  of  their 
supreme  authority. 

No  party  will  yield  up  its  power  willingly ;  and  a 
religious  party  less  willingly  than  any  other,  because  it 
believes  itself  to  represent  the  Divine  will,  and  con- 
strues all  attack  upon  itself  as  resistance  to  Divine 
authority.  Its  moral  sense  is  offended,  as  well  as  its 
avarice  and  ambition.    There  is  no  bitterness  so  intense 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  273 

as  that  which  comes  when  the  moral  feelings  are  cor- 
rupted into  alliance  with  men's  passions.  That  is 
fanaticism. 

Although  there  is  something  admirable  in  this  scene, 
—  a  single  man  confronting  the  false  spirit  of  the  age, 
the  customs  of  his  countrymen,  and  the  active  power 
of  their  government,  —  yet  it  has  its  sadness  as  well. 
Here  began  the  death  of  Jesus.  From  this  hour  the 
cross  threw  its  shadow  upon  his  path. 

There  were  two  other  conflicts  on  this  very  question 
which  occurred  about  this  time ;  and  though  there  is 
nothing  by  which  we  may  fix  the  place  where  they 
occurred,  some  placing  it  near  Jerusalem,  and  some, 
wdth  more  probability,  in  Galilee,  they  may  be  fitly 
grouped  and  considered  together,  for  they  all  belong 
to  about  the  same  period  of  Christ's  ministry,  and  they 
are,  interiorly,  parts  of  the  same  conflict. 

This  first  collision  settled  the  policy  of  the  Temple 
party.  Word  went  out  over  all  the  land  to  their  ac- 
tive partisans  that  Jesus  was  to  be  watched.  Wher- 
ever he  went  from  this  time,  his  steps  were  dogged  by 
spies ;  skulking  emissaries  listened  for  some  indictable 
speech ;  and  everywhere  he  found  the  Pharisees  in  a 
ferment  of  malice. 

In  one  of  his  circuits,  whether  in  Judaea  or  in  Gali- 
lee is  not  stated,  he  was  on  a  Sabbath  day  passing 
through  the  fields.  The  barley  harvest  was  near  at 
hand.  The  grain  was  turning  ripe.  His  disciples, 
being  hungry,  began  to  rub  out  the  ripe  kernels  from 
the  barley-heads  and  to  eat  them.  According  to  the 
refinements  of  the  Pharisees,  this  was  equivalent  to- 
harvesting.  Jesus  was  permitting  his  disciples  to  reap 
grain-fields  on  the  Sabbath  !     To  be  sure,  it  was  but  a 

18 


274  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,    TEE   CHRIST. 

few  heads  that  were  phicked,  but  harvesting  did  not 
depend  on  much  or  httle.  One  grain  gathered  on 
the  Sabbath  had  the  moral  character  of  harvest  labor ! 

Does  this  seem  impertinent  and  impossible  ?  Not  if 
one  considers  that  the  Pharisee  forbade  men  to  walk 
on  the  grass  on  the  Sabbath,  because  in  so  doing  some 
seeds  might  be  crushed  out  under  their  feet,  and  that 
would  be  threshing !  No  man  must  catch  a  flea  on  the 
Sabbath,  for  that  would  be  hunting !  No  man  on  the 
Sabbath  must  wear  nailed  shoes,  for  that  would  be 
bearing  burdens ! 

To  make  the  criminality  of  Jesus  sure,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  call  attention  to  the  conduct  of  his  disciples, 
and  secure  his  approval  of  it.  Taking  food  that  did 
not  belong  to  them  was  not  an  offence  under  the  laws 
of  Moses,  if  it  was  done  to  satisfy  hunger  ^  The  alle- 
gation was,  therefore,  "  Thy  disciples  do  that  which  is 
not  lawfid  to  do  iipon  the  Sahhaih  day^^  He  first  shapes 
a  reply  that  a  Pharisee  would  feel,  and  then  he  places 
the  Sabbath  on  the  broadest  ground  of  humanity. 

King  David,  the  pride  and  glory  of  the  Jews,  was 
never  condemned  for  breaking  a  law  which  was  regard- 
ed with  extraordinary  sacredness.  Driven  by  excess  of 
hunger,  when  fleeing  from  Saul,  he  entered  the  house 
of  God,^  deceived  the  high-priest,  seized  and  ate  the 
consecrated  bread,  taking  it,  as  it  were,  from  before 
the  very  face  of  God.  To  save  his  life  he  committed 
an  act  of  sacrilege,  and  yet  was  never  deemed  guilty 

'  "  "VVlien  thou  comest  into  tliy  neighbor's  vineyard,  then  thou  mayest  eat 
grapes  thy  fill,  at  thine  own  pleasure ;  but  thou  shalt  not  put  any  in  thy 
vessel.  AMien  thou  comest  into  the  standing  corn  of  thy  neighbor,  then 
thou  mayest  pluck  the  ears  with  thine  hand ;  but  thou  shalt  not  move  a  sickle 
unto  thy  neighbor's  standing  corn."  —  Deut.  xxiii.  24,  25 

*  1  Sam.  xxi.  1-6. 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  275 

of  tlie  sin  of  sacrilege.  But  it  was  not  necessary  to 
refer  to  history.  Right  before  their  eyes,  in  their  own 
day,  was  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  broken,  and  that  too 
by  their  holiest  men.  Did  not  the  priests  work  every 
Sabbath  in  the  Temple,  slaying  sheep  and  oxen,  draw- 
ing water,  cleaving  wood  and  carrying  it  to  the  altar, 
kindling  fires,  and  all  this,  not  in  rare  emergencies,  but 
habitually  ?  If  the  Pharisaic  rule  of  the  Sabbath  were 
binding,  what  should  be  said  of  men  who  every  week 
chose  the  holiest  place,  in  the  most  public  manner,  to 
violate  the  Sabbath  by  hard  work  ?  No  reply  was 
made  to  these  words,  for  the  best  of  reasons. 

They  could  not  deny  that  the  rulers  of  the  Temple 
had  authority  to  permit  the  priests  to  work  on  the 
Sabbath.  But  Jesus  claimed  that  he  was  himself 
superior  in  authority  to  the  Temple.  "  In  this  place 
is  one  greater  than  the  Temple."  To  the  Jews  that 
Temple  was  the  symbol  of  their  history,  their  re- 
ligion, and  their  civil  law.  It  was  the  nation's  heart. 
When  Jesus  declared  himself  to  be  superior  to  the 
Temple  itself,  it  could  be  understood  as  nothing  less 
than  grasping  at  sovereignty ;  and  as  it  was  an  af- 
firmation in  justification  of  an  assault  upon  the  most 
sensitive  part  of  their  authority,  it  could  be  understood 
as  nothing  less  than  treading  under  foot  the  Sanhedrim. 
Was  it,  then,  one  of  those  moments  in  which  his  heav- 
enly nature  illumined  his  person,  and  filled  all  that 
looked  on  with  admiration  and  amazement?  If  not, 
how  can  we  account  for  it  that  there  was  no  protest, 
no  outburst  of  wrath  ? 

This  imperial  mood  was  significant,  too,  because  it 
disclosed  itself  in  the  beginning  of  his  conflict  with  the 
Temple  party,  in  the  very  calmness  and  morning  of  his 


276  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

more  open  ministry.  Tlie  same  sovereignty  of  spirit 
was  more  and  more  apparent  to  the  end.  Its  assump- 
tion was  not,  as  Renan  imagines,  the  final  effect  of  con- 
tinuous conflicts  with  the  Jews  :  it  belonged  to  Jesus 
from  the  beginning.  His  life  answered  to  either  title, 
Son  of  Man,  or  Son  of  God.  In  the  spirit  of  sover- 
eignty he  claimed  authority  to  repeal  the  legislation 
of  the  Pharisees  respecting  the  Sabbath,  to  restore  the 
Law  to  its  original  simplicity,  and  to  leave  to  the  in- 
telligent moral  sense  of  men  what  things  were  mer- 
ciful and  necessary  on  the  Sabbath. 

It  is  remarkable  that  there  should  be  a  third  conflict 
of  the  same  kind  at  about  the  same  time.  It  shows  that 
the  Pharisees  had  accepted  the  challenge,  and  were  de- 
termined to  make  an  open  issue  with  Jesus  on  the 
subject  of  Sabbath-keeping.  On  a  Sabbath  not  long 
after  the  scene  just  now  narrated,  the  people  were 
gathered  in  a  synagogue,  —  where  and  in  what  one  is 
not  mentioned.  Christ  was  teaching  the  peojDle.  There 
was  among  them  a  man  whose  right  arm  was  paralyzed. 
The  Pharisees  were  there  watching.  They  knew  that 
Jesus  would  be  tempted  by  his  humanity  to  break  the 
Pharisaic  Sabbath  by  healing  him.  They  hinted  at  the 
man's  presence  by  asking  Jesus,  "Is  it  lawful  to  heal 
on  the  Sabbath  day?"  Before  answering  them,  Jesus 
called  to  the  paralytic,  "  Rise  up,  and  stand  forth  in 
the  midst."  Then,  turning  to  his  malicious  questioners, 
he  put  back  to  them  their  own  question,  lifted  out  of 
its  technical  form,  and  placed  upon  moral  grounds :  "  Is 
it  lawful  on  the  Sabbath  days  to  do  good,  or  to  do  evil  ? 
to  save  life,  or  to  destroy  it  ?  "  They  did  not  dare  to 
answer  when  the  case  was  thus  brought  home  to  every 
man's  common  sense.     But  Jesus  was  willing  to  meet 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  277 

the  question  both  on  technical  and  on  moral  grounds. 
The  Pharisees  permitted  a  shepherd  to  extricate  from 
peril  one  of  his  sheep  on  the  Sabbath  day.  Seizing 
that  permission  to  property  interests,  Jesus  contrasted 
with  it  their  shameless  indifference  to  humanity. 
"  How  much  then  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep  ? 
Wherefore  it  is  lawful  to  do  well  on  the  Sabbath  days." 

This  scene,  slight  as  it  seems  in  the  rehearsal,  went 
to  the  very  heart  of  Jesus.  To  him  nothing  seemed  so 
repulsive  as  the  soul  of  an  intelHgent  man  coiled  up 
in  its  selfishness  and  striking  at  the  poor  and  weak. 
Sins  of  excess,  unbridled  passions,  vices  and  crimes, 
he  rebuked  with  much  of  pity  as  well  as  of  sternness ; 
but  intelligent  inhumanity  roused  his  utmost  indigna- 
tion. This  particular  case  was  peculiarly  offensive. 
He  turned  upon  his  questioners  an  eye  that  none  could 
bear.  Calm  it  was,  but  it  burned  like  a  flame.  There 
is  no  expression  so  unendurable  as  that  of  incensed  love. 
It  is  plain  that  he  searched  their  countenances  one  by 
one,  and  brought  home  to  them  a  sense  of  their  mean- 
ness. "  And  when  he  had  looked  round  about  on  them 
with  anger,  being  grieved  for  the  hardness  of  their 
hearts,  he  saith  unto  the  man.  Stretch  forth  thine 
hand."     It  was  healed. 

Now  came  the  rage  of  his  baffled  enemies.  They 
"were  filled  with  madness."  They  drew  together  in 
counsel ;  they  began  to  call  in  as  auxiliaries  the  venal 
scoundrels  that  hung  about  Herod's  court,  seeking 
"how  they  might  destroy  him,"  combining  political 
jealousy  with  ecclesiastical  bitterness.  As  yet,  their 
mahce  was  powerless.     His  hour  had  not  come. 

We  have  here,  in  a  more  developed  form  than  had 


278  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,    THE   CHRIST. 

thus  far  appeared  in  the  Ufe  of  Jesus,  the  aggressive- 
ness of  love.  He  had  shown  himself  to  be  personally 
full  of  sympathy  and  kindness  ;  but  now  he  makes 
benevolence  the  criterion  of  justice  and  the  test  of 
relio-ion.  He  besrins  to  brino-  the  institutions,  the 
customs,  and  the  maxims  of  his  countrymen  to  the 
criticism  of  the  law  of  kindness.  It  is  the  first  scene 
in  which  we  behold  love  equipped  for  conflict. 

Whatever  importance  attached  to  the  day  in  their 
controversy,  the  Sabbath  was  a  secondary  matter.  It 
was  not  a  question  whether  it  was  divine,  nor  whether 
it  should  be  abrogated,  nor  even  how  it  should  be  kept; 
it  was  the  spirit  of  inhumanity,  the  hard-heartedness 
of  the  religious  chiefs,  the  unsympathetic  and  teasing 
spirit  with  which  they  administered  religious  affairs 
that  was  to  be  judged.  It  was  more  than  a  dispute 
about  an  ordinance  ;  it  was  a  conflict  between  kindness 
and  unmercifulness,  between  fraternal  sympathies  and 
official  authority,  between  mercy  and  relentless  super- 
stition. 

When  we  hear  Jesus  saying,  "I  will  have  mercy, 
and  not  sacrifice,"  and  know  that  those  words  were 
ajDplied  to  the  administration  of  law,  we  feel  that  a 
new  interpretation  of  justice  has  come.  The  Divine 
administration  of  all  laws  is  toward  mercy.  Hence- 
forth humanity  judges  them,  and  gives  them  permis- 
sion to  be.  Pain  and  penalty  are  not  abolished,  but 
they  are  no  longer  vindictive  ;  they  are  for  restraint, 
correction,  and  prevention.  Justice  is  love  purging 
things  from  evil  and  making  them  lovely. 

The  protests  of  Jesus  against  the  Pharisaic  ob- 
servance of  the  Sabbath  must  not  be  regarded  as  dis- 
countenancing the  day  itself  as  a  Divine  ordinance, 


EARLY  LABORS  IN  GALILEE.  279 

nor  even  as  criticising  the  original  methods  of  its 
observance  enjoined  by  Moses.  He  set  his  face  against 
the  unfeeling  use  which  the  Pharisees  of  his  time  made 
of  it.  It  was  the  perversion  of  a  day  of  mercy  that  he 
resisted.  In  reasoning  the  case,  Jesus  laid  down  a  prin- 
ciple which  affects  all  hmnan  institutions  of  every  kind : 
"  The  Sahhath  tvas  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the 
Salhathr 

Institutions  and  laws  have  no  sacredness  in  them- 
selves. They  have  no  rights  as  against  the  real  wel- 
fare of  men.  Laws  are  servants,  not  masters.  No  law 
must  rule  unless  it  will  serve.  But  one  thing  on  earth 
is  intrinsically  sacred,  and  that  is  man,  and  he  because 
he  is  God's  son  and  the  heir  of  immortality.  His  na- 
ture is  sacred.  Amidst  all  his  sins,  crimes,  and  corrup- 
tions, there  is  still  within  him  the  soul  that  came  of 
God,  for  whose  sake  the  whole  round  of  nature  is 
ordained ;  —  and  how  much  more  civil  laws  and  eccle- 
siastical ordinances  !  The  state  was  made  for  man,  not 
man  for  the  state. 

The  welfare  of  the  state  depends  upon  the  sacredness 
of  the  individual  citizen.  The  tendency  has  been  to 
build  up  the  state  at  all  hazard,  —  to  sacrifice  the  cit- 
izen to  public  good,  as  if  the  good  of  the  whole  de- 
manded the  sacrifice  of  its  units.  Men  may  offer 
themselves  up  in  great  emergencies,  revolutions,  wars, 
etc.,  but  in  the  ordinary  flow  of  life  the  strength  and 
haj)piness  of  the  unit  will  determine  the  prosperity 
and  power  of  the  aggregate. 


280  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

A  TIME  OF  JOY. 

Thus  far  we  have  seen  only  the  preparatory  steps 
of  Christ's  ministry.  A  year  and  a  half  had  passed 
since  his  baptism,  of  which  period  but  an  imperfect 
record  exists.  The  time  was  now  come  for  the  full  dis- 
closure of  his  energy.  He  began  to  feel  in  greater 
measure  the  impulse  of  the  Divine  nature.  He  had 
learned,  in  this  last  visit  to  Jerusalem,  of  John's  arrest 
and  imprisonment.  The  field  was  open.  He  left  the 
scowling  brotherhood  of  Judsean  Pharisees,  who  no 
longer  disguised  their  deadly  intentions,  and  repaired 
to  Galilee,  making  Capernaum  his  head-quarters.  We 
must  soon  follow  him  in  the  repeated  circuits  which  he 
made  from  there,  and  note  the  details  of  his  ministry. 

It  was  the  most  joyful  period  of  his  life.  It  was  a 
full  year  of  beneficence  unobstructed.  It  is  true  that 
he  was  jealously  watched,  but  he  was  not  forcibly  re- 
sisted. He  was  maliciously  defamed  by  the  emissaries 
of  the  Temple,  but  he  irresistibly  charmed  the  hearts 
of  the  common  people.  Can  we  doubt  that  his  life  was 
full  of  exquisite  enjoyment  ?  He  had  not  within  him- 
self those  conflicts  which  common  men  have.  There 
was  entire  harmony  of  faculties  within,  and  a  perfect 
agreement  between  his  inward  and  his  external  life. 
He  bore  others'  burdens,  but  had  none  of  his  own. 
His  body  was  in  full  health ;  his  soul  was  clear  and 


A  TIME  OF  JOY.  281 

tranquil ;  Ms  heart  overflowed  with  an  unending  sym- 
pathy. He  was  pursuing  the  loftiest  errand  which 
benevolence  can  contemplate.  No  joy  known  to  the 
human  soul  compares  with  that  of  successful  benefi- 
cent labor.  We  cannot  doubt  that  the  earlier  portions 
of  this  year,  though  full  of  intense  excitement,  were 
also  full  of  deep  happiness  to  him.  Wherever  he 
came,  he  carried  men's  hearts  with  him.  Whatever 
town  he  left,  there  had  been  hundreds  of  hearts  in 
it  made  happy  by  his  cleansing  touch.  At  times  the 
excitement  seemed  likely  to  whirl  him  away.  He  was 
obliged  to  repress  it,  to  forsake  the  crowds  and  hide 
himself  for  a  while,  —  to  withhold  his  miracles,  lest 
the  overflowing  enthusiasm  should  be  mistaken  by  a 
jealous  government  for  political  insurrection,  and  a 
cruel  end  be  put  to  the  work  of  beneficence. 

We  love  to  linger  in  these  thoughts.  We  are  glad 
that  Jesus  tasted  joy  as  well  as  sorrow,  —  that  there 
were  months  of  wonderful  gladness.  At  times  the 
cloud  of  coming  sufiering  may  have  cast  its  shadow 
upon  his  path ;  but  his  daily  work  was  full  of  light. 
Could  he  behold  the  gladness  of  household  after  house- 
hold and  be  himself  unmoved?  Could  he  heal  the  sick 
through  wide  regions,  see  the  maimed  and  cripjoled 
restored  to  activity,  and  not  participate  in  the  joy 
which  broke  out  on  every  hand?  Could  he  console 
the  sorrowing,  instruct  the  ignorant,  recall  the  wan- 
dering, confirm  the  wavering,  and  not  find  his  heart 
full  of  joyfulness  ?  Besides  the  wonder  and  admira- 
tion which  he  excited  on  every  hand,  he  received  from 
not  a  few  the  most  cordial  affection,  and  returned  a 
richer  love. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  see  from  the  simple  language 


282  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

of  the  Evangelists,  that  his  first  circuits  in  Gahlee  were 
triumphal  processions.  The  sentences  which  general- 
ize the  history  are  few,  but  they  are  such  as  could 
have  sprung  only  out  of  joyous  memories,  and  indicate 
a  new  and  great  develojoment  of  power  on  his  side,  and 
an  ebullition  of  joj^ful  excitement  through  the  whole 
community.  "  And  Jesus  returned  in  the  poiver  of  the 
Spirit  into  Galilee  :  and  there  went  out  a  fame  of  him 
through  all  the  region  round  about.  And  he  taught 
in  their  synagogues,  hcing  glorified  of  all!'  (Luke  iv. 
14,  15.) 

To  suppose  that  Jesus  had  no  gladness  in  the  work 
which  diffused  so  much  happiness,  that  he  could  see 
the  tides  of  excitement  flowing  on  every  side  without 
sympathy,  that  he  could  touch  responsively  every 
tender  affection  in  the  human  soul  and  not  have  a 
vibration  of  its  joy  in  himself,  is  to  suppose  him  less 
than  human.  Any  worthy  conception  of  a  Divine  na- 
ture must  make  it  far  richer  in  aftection  and  sympathy 
than  men  can  be.  Whatever  rejoicing  attended  his 
career  through  Galilee,  we  may  be  sure  that  no  one 
was  more  happy  than  he. 

On  the  Sabbath  he  seems  always  to  have  resorted  to 
the  synagogue,  as  did  every  devout  Jew,  just  as  Chris- 
tians now  betake  themselves  to  churches.  His  fame 
would  not  permit  him  to  be  only  a  listener.  He  was 
called  by  the  rulers  of  the  synagogue  to  the  place  of 
teacher,  and  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  he  unfolded  to 
his  countrymen  the  deep  spiritual  meanings  hidden  in 
their  Scriptures  which  had  been  buried  under  the  Phar- 
isaic traditions.  But  he  did  not  confine  himself  to  a 
Scriptural  and  expository  method  of  instruction.  On 
the  Sabbath,  and  during  the  week-days,  when  fit  occa- 


A   TIME  OF  JOY.  283 

sion  offered,  he  seized  the  events  which  were  taking 
place  before  their  eyes,  and,  applying  to  them  the 
criticism,  of  the  highest  morality,  he  made  them  the 
texts  from  which  to  develop  a  spiritual  faith.  More 
of  these  discourses  founded  upon  passing  events  are 
recorded  than  of  Scriptural  expositions.  Indeed,  while 
we  have  many  allusions  to  Scripture,  we  have  no 
single  discourse  of  Jesus  which  may  be  strictly  called 
an  expository  one.  The  freshness  of  this  method  of 
teaching,  the  abandonment  of  all  mere  refinements 
and  frivolous  niceties,  the  application  of  humane  good 
sense  and  of  rational  justice  to  every-day  interests, 
gave  to  liis  teaching  a  power  which  never  accom- 
panied the  tedious  dialectics  of  the  Jewish  doctors. 
"And  they  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine:  for  he 
taught  them  as  one  that  had  authority,  and  not  as  the 
scribes.  .  .  .  For  his  word  was  with  jDOwer."  (Mark  i. 
22  ;  Luke  iv.  32.) 

An  occurrence  on  one  of  the  earliest,  if  not  the  very 
first  of  the  Sabbaths  spent  in  Capernaum,  will  furnish 
a  good  example  of  the  scenes  of  this  great  year  of  his 
ministry. 

While  Jesus  was  sjDeaking  in  the  synagogue,  amidst 
the  profound  stillness  the  people  were  startled  by  a 
wild  outcry.  A  poor  wretch  was  there  who  "  had  the 
spirit  of  an  unclean  devil."  With  the  pathos  of  intense 
fear  he  cried  out,  "  Let  us  alone ;  what  have  we  to  do 
with  thee,  thou  Jesus  of  Nazareth  ?  "  All  this  might 
have  resulted  from  the  pungent  nature  of  the  teach- 
ing, but  not  the  cry,  "  I  know  thee  who  thou  art,  the 
Holy  One  of  God,"  —  this  was  something  more  than 
a  random  speech.  We  may  imagine  the  shock  which 
such  a  scene  would  produce  in  the  midst  of  a  sermon 


284  TBE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

in  one  of  our  churches.  Jesus,  undisturbed  and  calm, 
enjoined  silence,  and  with  a  word  of  command  drove 
out  the  evil  spirit.  Then  came  the  reaction ;  all  men 
were  filled  with  admiration  and  spread  the  news  abroad. 
But  Jesus,  withdrawing  from  the  tumult,  secluded 
himself  during  the  heat  of  the  day  in  Peter's  house. 
There  he  found  Peter's  mother-in-law  prostrated  with 
a  fever.  At  a  touch  of  his  hand  she  was  healed,  and 
resumed  her  household  duties  before  them  all,  as  if  she 
had  not  been  sick.  The  whole  city  was  alive  with 
excitement. 

During  the  fiery  noons  of  Oriental  cities  men  shut 
themselves  up  in  their  houses ;  but  at  evening  they 
pour  forth,  and  the  gate  of  the  city  is  the  grand  resort. 
Thither  too,  upon  this  same  day,  repaired  Jesus,  who 
was  always  drawn  toward  the  multitudes.  He  was 
evidently  expected  and  eagerly  awaited.  And  now 
appeared  a  scene  which  only  the  imagination  can 
depict.  All  the  diseases  which  the  violent  heats  in 
that  climate  breed  upon  the  uncleanly  habits  and  the 
squalid  poverty  of  the  masses  were  represented  at 
the  gate  by  appropriate  subjects.  Fevers,  dropsies, 
paralyses,  were  there.  The  blind,  the  deaf,  and  —  hov- 
ering on  the  edge  afar  off — the  lepers  implored  help. 
The  lame  came  limping,  and  those  too  sick  to  help 
themselves  were  borne  thither  by  their  friends,  until 
the  ample  space  was  like  a  camp  hospital.  Jesus 
commenced  amono;  them  his  merciful  work.  It  was 
a  solemn  and  joyftd  scene.  Human  misery  was  ex- 
hibited here  in  many  forms;  but  as,  one  by  one,  the 
touch  or  word  of  the  Master  healed  it,  came  the  re- 
bound of  exultation.  Those  who  were  coming,  bear- 
ing the  sick  on  couches,  met  returning  happy  groups 


A   TIME   OF  JOY.  285 

of  those  who  had  been  healed.  Many  tears  of  rejoic- 
ing fell,  as  children  were  given  back  to  despairing 
mothers.  Strange  calmness  in  some  natures,  and  wild 
exhilaration  in  others,  attested  the  rapture  of  deliver- 
ance from  loathsome  disease.  Never,  in  all  their  mem- 
ories, had  there  been  such  an  evening  twilight  of  a 
Sabbath  day.  But  of  all  who  went  home  that  night 
in  ecstasy  of  gladness,  there  was  not  one  whose  nature 
enabled  him  to  feel  the  deep  joy  of  Him  who  said,  "  It 
is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 

We  always  long  to  look  into  the  souls  of  great  men 
at  critical  periods,  to  see  how  success  or  defeat  affects 
them.  This  had  been  a  triumphal  Sabbath  to  Jesus. 
No  opposition  seems  to  have  arisen  from  any  quarter. 
His  instructions  had  been  received  without  cavil,  and 
had  awakened  an  almost  idolatrous  enthusiasm.  His 
name  was  on  every  lip ;  his  praise  resounded  through 
the  whole  neighborhood,  and  the  day  had  closed  by  such 
a  luminous  display  of  merciful  benefactions  as  left  all 
his  former  deeds  in  the  shade.  The  effect  of  such  suc- 
cess upon  his  own  soul  is  dimly  sho^vn  in  the  record 
by  the  intimations  of  a  probably  sleepless  night,  and 
his  going  forth  long  before  dayhght  into  a  quiet  place 
for  prayer.  The  excitement  of  beneficence  hfted  him 
toward  the  Divine  Spirit.  If  success  had  in  any  wise 
tempted  him  to  vanity,  he  found  a  refuge  in  com- 
munion with  God.  "  And  in  the  morning,  rising  up  a 
great  while  before  day,  he  went  out,  and  departed  into 
a  solitary  jDlace,  and  there  prayed."     (Mark  i.  35.) 

But  the  tumult  of  excitement  in  the  city  could  not 
easily  subside.  Early  the  people  began  to  throng 
Peter's  house  to  find  him  again.  Peter  and  his  broth- 
ers went  forth  to  search  for  the  wanderer.     We  can 


286  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

without  violence  imagine  that  he  had  selected  one  of 
the  near  slopes  of  the  hills  which  hedge  in  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  on  its  western  limit.  There  lay  the  tranquil 
waters.  The  last  mists  were  dissolving  from  its  face  as 
the  footsteps  of  the  throng  drew  near.  Simon  salutes 
him,  saying,  "  All  men  seek  for  thee  " ;  and  the  people 
with  him  press  around  Jesus  with  affectionate  violence, 
as  if  they  would  carry  him  back  to  the  city  in  their 
arms.  They  "  came  unto  him,  and  stayed  him,  tliat  he 
should  not  depart  from  them."  The  desire  was  natural; 
but  he  had  a  mission  of  which  they  knew  not.  It  Avas 
not  for  him  to  settle  in  Capernaum,  nor  suffer  them  to 
appropriate  to  themselves  all  his  mercies.  He  replied 
to  their  importunity,  "  I  must  preach  the  kingdom  of 
God  to  other  cities  also." 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Pharisees  joined  in 
this  general  applause.  While  there  were  just  men 
among  them,  the  great  body  were  either  secretly  or 
ojDcnly  inimical  to  Jesus.  But  they  were  politic ; 
they  did  not  choose  to  array  themselves  against  the 
people  in  the  hour  of  their  enthusiasm.  If  at  first 
they  hesitated,  hoping  that  this  man  of  singular  in- 
fluence might  be  used  in  the  interest  of  their  party, 
they  had  now  given  up  all  such  expectations,  and 
their  enmity  grew  with  his  popularity.  Thus  at  this 
time  they  seem  to  have  neither  applauded  nor  op- 
posed him. 

Jesus  journeyed,  after  the  manner  of  the  country, 
on  foot.  So  thickly  were  the  towns  planted  in  popu- 
lous Galilee  that  he  needed  to  make  but  a  short 
march  from  one  to  another.  It  was  the  hospitable 
custom  of  the  time,  when  Jewish  Kabbis  went  from 
place  to  place,  to  provide  for  all  their  wants.     Thus 


A   TIME  OF  JOY.  287 

Jesus  was  supported  by  the  kindness  of  the  people 
wherever  he  labored.  Can  it  be  doubted  that,  among 
so  many  who  received  at  his  hands  priceless  gifts  of 
healino;  or  consolation,  there  were  foimd  numl^ers  of 
all  classes  who  contested  for  the  privilege  of  enter- 
taining him  ?  And  yet  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  he  allied  himself  very  closely  with  the  poor 
and  laboring  class.  It  is  certain  that  in  his  passage 
through  Galilee,  at  a  later  day  than  that  of  which 
we  are  speaking,  he  was  dependent  upon  the  contri- 
butions of  grateful  women  whom  he  had  healed  or 
blessed  by  his  teaching,  and  who  accompanied  his 
disciples.  (Luke  viii.  1-3.)  We  also  know  that  the 
company  of  disciples  was  organized  into  a  family, 
had  a  common  treasury,  and  received  into  it  the  gifts 
of  benevolence  for  their  joint  support.  Jesus  never 
scrupled  to  accept  the  hospitality  of  the  rich,  for  they 
too  were  men ;  yet  he  seems  to  have  been  at  no  time 
long  separated  from  the  poor  and  wretched  of  his 
people.  Had  he  dwelt  among  the  rich  and  gone  down 
to  the  poor,  he  could  never  have  come  so  near  to 
their  hearts  as  when  he  ate  their  bread,  slept  under 
their  humble  roofs,  and  sympathized  with  their  tasks 
and  labors,  as  his  own  early  life  peculiarly  fitted  him 
to  do.  Many  a  wanderer  would  come  to  him  as  he  sat 
among  the  lowly,  who  would  not  have  dared  to  enter 
the  mansions  of  the  rich.  Yet  one  will  in  vain  look 
for  a  syllable  in  all  his  teachings  that  would  favor  the 
prejudices  which  one  class  usually  entertains  against 
another.  He  was  faithful  to  all  in  rebuking  their 
evil.  But  his  spirit  tended  to  draw  men  together,  and 
to  unite  the  widely  sej)arated  classes  of  society  in  the 
sympathy  of  a  common  brotherhood. 


288  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

Immediately  following  the  Sabbath  whose  history 
we  have  given  above,  Jesus  made  the  first  of  the  series 
of  circuits  which  marked  this  period  of  his  life,  and  by 
which  he  compassed  the  whole  of  Galilee  several  times 
during  this  year.  So  vague  are  the  chronological 
hints  in  the  Evangelists,  that  we  cannot  note  with  pre- 
cision either  the  several  routes  or  the  exact  periods  at 
which  the  several  journeys  were  made,  nor  ascertain 
to  which  of  the  circuits  belong  certain  descriptions 
of  the  effects  produced.  It  is  probable  that  every 
appearance  of  Jesus  was  the  signal  for  great  excite- 
ment, that  the  course  of  ordinary  affairs  was  inter- 
rupted, and  that  the  whole  population  in  some  in- 
stances were  turned  out  of  the  usual  channels  of  life. 
Not  only  did  the  people  of  each  town  throng  his  steps, 
but  there  came  from  abroad,  from  widely  different 
directions,  great  multitudes,  who  crowded  the  roads, 
choked  up  the  villages,  and  went  with  him  from  place 
to  place.  Matthew  says  that  "great  multitudes"  of 
people  "followed"  him  from  Galilee,  from  Decapolis 
(the  name  of  a  region  on  the  northeast  of  Palestine, 
comprising  ten  cities),  from  Jerusalem,  from  Judaea 
generally,  and  from  beyond  Jordan,  and  that  his  fame 
was  spread  "  throughout  all  Syria."  Every  day  added 
to  the  excitement.  It  threatened  to  become  revolu- 
tionary. Every  eminent  miracle  shot  forth  a  new 
ardor.  Capernaum,  on  one  occasion,  was  fairly  be- 
sieged, so  that,  as  Mark  says,  he  "could  no  more 
openly  enter  into  the  city."  How  large  these  crowds 
actually  were,  we  have  some  means  of  judging  by  the 
numbers  mentioned  in  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
feeding  of  the  multitudes  ;  in  one  case  four  thousand, 
and  in  another  case  five  thousand,  were  supplied  with 


A   TIME  OF  JOY.  289 

food.  It  was  certainly  to  be  desired  that  the  preach- 
ing of  Jesus  should  arouse  the  whole  community ;  but 
an  excessive  and  ungovernable  excitement  was  unfa- 
vorable to  the  reception  of  the  truth,  and  subjected 
the  people  to  bloody  dangers  by  arousing  the  sus- 
picions of  a  vigilant  and  cruel  government.  Herod 
would  be  likely  to  imagine  that  under  all  these  pre- 
tences of  religion  lurked  some  political  scheme.  The 
Pharisees,  as  we  know,  had  made  league  with  the 
Herodians  against  Jesus,  and  were  fomenting  malig- 
nant jealousies.  For  these  reasons  it  is  not  strange 
that  Jesus  sought  to  allay  enthusiasm,  rather  than  to 
inflame  curiosity.  But  it  was  impossible ;  his  words 
had  no  more  effect  than  dew  upon  a  burning  prairie. 

Is  this  surprising  ?  What  if  in  one  of  our  villages 
such  a  scene  as  the  healing  of  the  leper,  or  the  ciu'ing 
of  the  paralytic,  should  take  place  ?  For  about  this  time 
it  was  that  in  a  "  certain  city  "  —  what  city  we  know 
not  —  Jesus  saw  one  aj)proaching  him  whose  dress 
marked  him  as  a  lejoer.  By  law  the  leper  had  no  right 
to  come  near  to  any  one.  He  was  bound,  if  any  one 
approached  him  unawares,  to  lift  up  a  wail  of  warning : 
"  Unclean !  unclean !  "  Such,  however,  was  the  repute 
of  Jesus  for  divine  sympathy,  that  even  lepers  long 
used  to  unkindness  and  neglect  forgot  their  habits  of 
seclusion  and  avoidance.  Eight  before  the  feet  of  the 
Master  fell  a  leper  upon  his  face,  and  with  intense  sup- 
plication "besought"  him:  "Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  thou 
canst  make  me  clean." 

It  was  not  needful  to  touch  this  loathsome  creature.. 
A  word  would  heal  him.  But  a  word  would  not  ex- 
press the  tenderness  and  yearning  sympathy  of  the 
Saviour's  heart.     "And  Jesus,  moved  with  compassion, 

19 


290  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,  THE   CHRIST. 

put  forth  /lis  hand,  and  touched  him,  and  saith  unto  him, 
"  I  will ;  be  thou  clean." 

That  Jesus  commanded  him  to  go  and  exhibit  him- 
self, with  appropriate  offerings,  to  the  Jewish  priests, 
may  seem  strange,  when  we  consider  how  free  Jesus 
himself  was  from  the  conventionalism  of  his  age. 
There  does  not  seem  to  be  an  instance  in  which  he 
ever  set  aside  an  original  Mosaic  rite  or  institute.  It 
was  the  additions  made  by  the  Pharisees  that  he 
pushed  away  without  reverence,  and  even  with  re- 
pugnance. No  other  Jew  was  more  observant  of  the 
original  religious  institutes  of  Moses  than  he  who 
came  to  "fulfil  the  law."  He  went  behind  the  tra- 
dition of  the  elders  to  the  Law  itself:  nay,  he  accepted 
the  commands  of  Moses  because  they  coincided  with 
the  Divine  will.  "  Ye  have  made  the  coimnandment  of 
God  of  none  effect  by  your  tradition." 

In  no  way  was  the  leper  capable  of  expressing  his 
gratitude  religiously  other  than  by  the  customs  of  his 
own  people.  He  had  not  learned  the  higher  forms  of 
spiritual  life.  He  must  speak  his  thanks  to  God  in  the 
language  which  he  had  learned,  even  if  some  other  were 
a  better  language.  All  the  expedients  of  external 
worship  in  this  world  are  but  crutches  to  weak  souls. 
The  true  worship  is  in  spirit.  It  requires  neither  altar, 
nor  priest,  nor  uttered  prayer,  but  only  the  grateful 
heart,  open  before  Him  who  knows  better  than  any  one 
can  tell  Him  all  that  men  would  say. 

The  healed  leper,  however,  did  not  obey  the  injunc- 
tion. Carried  away  with  overpowering  joy,  he  went 
blazing  abroad  the  deed  of  mercy.  Can  we  wonder  ? 
Leprosy  was  a  living  death.  The  worst  form  of  the 
disease,  as  it  is  seen  in  Palestine  to-day,  is  described  by 


A   TIME   OF  JOY.  291 

Thomson  in  these  words  :  "  The  hair  falls  off  from 
the  head  and  ej^ebrows ;  the  nails  loosen,  deca}^,  and 
drop  off;  joint  after  joint  of  the  fingers  and  toes  shrinks 
np  and  slowly  falls  away.  The  gums  are  absorljed  and 
the  teeth  disappear.  The  nose,  the  eyes,  the  tongue, 
and  the  palate  are  slowly  consumed ;  and  finally  tlie 
wretched  victim  sinks  into  the  earth  and  disappears, 
while  medicine  has  no  power  to  stay  the  ravages  of  this 
fell  disease,  or  even  to  mitigate  sensibly  its  tortures."  ^ 
With  what  sensations  must  health  be  received  back 
by  this  exile  from  society,  seeing  life  afar  off,  but  not 
participating  in  its  joys !  In  one  instant  his  skin  was 
sweet  and  smooth,  his  face  comely,  his  breath  whole- 
some. He  might  again  clasp  his  mother  in  his  arms ! 
He  might  take  little  children  upon  his  knee !  The 
lips  of  love  would  not  now  shrink  from  the  kiss  which 
so  long  lay  withered  upon  his  lips  !  What  marvel  if 
his  joy  rang  through  the  region  round  about,  and 
roused  up  other  suffering  wretches,  who  went  throng- 
ing toward  the  city,  hopeful  of  a  like  cure  ?  Nor  were 
they  disappointed.  The  narratives  of  the  Evangelists 
clearly  imply  that  whole  neighborhoods  turned  out  with 
their  sick,  and  returned  with  every  invalid  healed.  As 
a  frost  kills  malaria,  or  a  wind  sweejDS  im^Durity  from 
the  sultry  air,  so  the  words  of  Jesus  seemed  to  purify 
the  fountains  of  health  in  whole  districts.  None  of  all 
that  came  were  refused.  It  is  in  vain  to  explain  away 
the  miraculous  element  in  the  few  cases  which  are 
given  in  detail,  unless  some  natural  solution  can  be 
found  for  the  healing  of  hundreds  and  thousands,  re- 
peatedly effected  at  different  times  and  in  different 
neighborhoods. 

'  The  Land  and  the  Book,  (American  edition,)  Vol.  II.  p.  519. 


292  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,    THE    CnRTST. 

At  length,  when  the  beneficence  of  healing  had  com- 
pleted its  workj  Jesus  retreated  from  the  excitement, 
from  the  curiosity,  the  admiration,  the  criticism,  the 
importunity  of  enthusiasm  and  affection,  and  hid  him- 
self in  the  near  solitudes.  The  love  of  solitude  is  strik- 
ingly shown  in  Jesus.  Nothing  exhausts  one  so  soon 
as  sympathy  with  the  active  sorrows  of  men.  Drawn 
out  on  every  side  by  men's  needs,  he  regained  his  equi- 
librium in  the  "  wilderness."  It  was  there  too  that  his 
thouo-hts  rose  into  communion  with  his  Father.  What 
reminiscences  of  heaven  had  he  ?  What  dim  memo- 
ries of  his  former  life  and  joy  came  to  him  ?  Was 
not  the  silence  of  solitude  full  of  whispers  from  the 
spirit  land  ?  No  one  can  tell.  There  are  many  who 
can  testify  that  to  them  the  solitudes  that  lie  near  to 
every  side  of  life  have  been  as  the  dawn  of  the  morn- 
ing after  a  troubled  night,  as  a  cool  shadow  in  the  hot 
noon,  —  a  fountain  in  a  great  and  weary  desert. 

That  Jesus  did  not  confine  his  reliscious  instructions 
to  Sabbath  days,  and  that  he  occupied  other  places 
than  the  synagogues,  is  plain  from  the  accounts  of  his 
sermons  from  boats  to  the  people  assembled  on  the 
shore,  and  of  his  discoursing  on  the  mountain-side,  and 
is  seen  in  an  occurrence  which  took  place  soon  after  his 
return  to  Capernaum  from  his  first  circuit.  He  was 
sitting  in  a  private  dwelling.  It  was  soon  noised 
abroad  in  the  city.  Out  rushed  hundreds  to  find  him. 
The  court  of  the  house  was  choked  with  the  crowd ; 
the  streets  were  thronged.  There  was  "  no  room  to 
receive  them,  no,  not  so  much  as  about  the  door :  and 
he  preached  the  word  unto  them."  While  he  was  thus 
engaged,  four  men  were  seen  bearing  upon  a  litter 
between  them  a  poor  paralytic,  and  seeking  to  pene- 


A   TIME  OF  JOY.  293 

trate  the  crowd.  Impossible  !  An  eager  tlirong,  made 
ujD  of  persons  each  seekmg  some  advantage  for  hmiself, 
and  moved  by  no  common  impulse  but  that  of  selfish- 
ness, is  harder  to  be  penetrated  than  stone  walls  and 
wooden  structures.  All  at  once,  as  Jesus  was  teach- 
ing, without  doubt  in  such  a  one-story  house  as  is  still 
to  be  seen  in  that  same  neighborhood,  the  roof  above 
his  head  was  parted,  —  as  from  its  construction  could 
easily  be  done,  and  as  was  frequently  done  for  va- 
rious j^urposes,  —  and  through  the  opening  was  let 
down  before  him  the  unhappy  patient !  Struck  with 
their  confident  faith,  Jesus,  interrupted  in  his  discourse, 
naturally  conferred  that  favor  which  to  him  was  un- 
speakably greater  than  any  other:  "Son,  be  of  good 
cheer ;  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee  !  " 

Instantly  a  hum  of  voices  was  heard.  Confusion 
arose  ;  for  he  was  preaching,  not  to  unlettered  citizens 
alone,  but  to  an  unusual  number  of  the  dignitaries  of 
the  synagogue  and  Temple.  "  There  were  Pharisees 
and  doctors  of  the  law  sitting  by,  which  were  come  out 
of  every  town  of  Galilee  and  Judsea  and  Jerusalem." 
The  bare  enunciation  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins  could 
hardly  have  disturbed  these  worthies.  It  must  be  that 
Jesus  uttered  the  words  with  the  air  of  sovereignty. 
It  was  one  of  those  moments  in  which  his  Divine  nature 
shone  out  with  radiance.  The  Pharisees  plainly  re- 
garded him  as  acting  in  his  own  right,  and  assuming 
authority  to  forgive  sins,  which  was  a  Divine  preroga- 
tive. They  cried  out, " Blasphemy !  blasphemy!"  They 
challenged  him  on  the  spot :  "  Who  can  forgive  sins,  but 
God  alone  ? "  Jesus  accepted  their  construction,  and 
after  some  words  of  reasoning  replied,  "  That  ye  may 
know  that  the  Son  of  Man  hath  power  on  earth  to 


294  '^nE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

forgive  sins,"  —  turning  to  the  sick  man,  —  "  Arise, 
take  np  thy  bed,  and  go  thy  way  imto  thine  house." 
To  the  doctors  there  could  be  but  one  interpretation 
of  this  response.  It  was  an  unequivocal  claim  of  Di- 
vinity. 

Men  suffering  from  hallucinations  have  claimed  for 
themselves  dignities  and  titles  transcendently  above 
their  merit.  One  must  be  himself  suffering  from  an 
hallucination  who  can  imagine  Jesus  at  this  period  of 
his  development  to  be  over-heated  in  brain,  or  fanati- 
cal. His  wonderful  discourse,  which  drew  and  fasci- 
nated alike  the  rudest  and  the  most  learned,  his 
calmness,  his  self-forgetfulness,  and  his  tender  sympa- 
thy for  others,  are  inconsistent  with  any  supposition  of 
a  tainted  reason,  and  still  less  with  an  over-swollen  pride 
and  self-conceit.  And  yet,  when  his  attention  was  called 
to  the  fact  that  forgiveness  of  sin  was  a  Divine  preroga- 
tive, he  did  not  explain  that  it  was  a  delegated  author- 
ity, but  reaffirmed  his  right  to  forgive  of  his  own  proper 
self,  and  wrought  a  miracle  in  attestation  of  that  right. 

That  his  whole  bearing  was  unusually  impressive  is 
plain  from  the  effect  produced  upon  the  common  peo- 
ple in  the  crowd.  They  had  seen  repeated  instances 
of  healing  and  of  other  works  of  mercy.  But  there 
was  in  this  case  something  more  than  is  set  forth  in 
the  narrative,  and  which  must  have  been  effected  by 
the  majesty  of  his  person  and  the  greatness  of  his 
spirit ;  for  as  they  dispersed  they  went  softly  and  awe- 
stricken,  saying  one  to  another,  "We  have  seen  strange 
things  to-day,"  — "  We  never  saw  it  on  this  fashion." 
Luke  says,  "They  marvelled,  and  were  filled  with  fear." 
Matthew  says  they  "  glorified  God,  which  had  given 
such  power  unto  men."     What  the  Pharisees  and  the 


A  TIME  OF  JOY.  295 

doctors  said  we  do  not  know.  That  some  of  tliem 
may  have  been  inwardly  convinced  that  this  was  the 
Messiah,  is  quite  probable ;  but  that  the  most  of  them 
were  only  the  more  enraged  and  set  against  Jesus,  is 
more  than  probable. 

It  will  be  recollected  that,  soon  after  his  baptism, 
Jesus  gathered  a  few  disciples  from  among  those  who 
companied  with  John.  Although  they  were  found  and 
called  in  Judjsa,  yet  they  all  lived  in  Galilee,  went  back 
with  him  on  his  return  thither,  and  are  mentioned  as 
guests  with  him  at  the  marriage  in  Cana.  During 
the  long  intervals  of  quiet  and  seclusion  which  Jesus 
seems  to  have  had  during  the  first  year  after  his  bap- 
tism, they  seem  to  have  gone  back  to  their  occupa- 
tions, and  awaited,  doubtless,  the  signal  which  should 
recall  them  to  him.  Jesus  was,  in  the  eyes  of  his  peo- 
ple, a  Rabbi,  or  learned  teacher,  although  jD^obably  he 
was  deemed  irregular,  and  was  out  of  favor  with  the 
heads  of  schools.  He  followed  all  the  customs  of  his 
people  when  they  were  innocent ;  and  in  his  teaching 
career  he  undoubtedly  pursued  the  course  which  was 
common  among  Rabbis,  of  gathering  classes  of  pupils, 
and  living  with  them,  and  even  upon  their  contribu- 
tions. The  pupils  were  expected,  under  due  regulation, 
to  diffuse  among  others  the  knowledge  which  they  re- 
ceived from  their  Rabbi.  They  sometimes  exj)Ounded 
to  the  people  under  the  eye  of  their  teacher ;  and  as 
they  advanced  in  capacity,  they  were  sent  out  upon  cir- 
cuits of  their  own.  Great  pains  was  taken  among  the 
Jews  to  promote  education.  Large  schools  existed  in 
Palestine,  and  in  other  lands  whither  the  Jews  had 
migrated.     In  these  schools  was  taught  the  whole  round 


296  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

of  knowledge  then  existing ;  —  theology,  philosophy, 
jurisprudence,  astronomy,  astrology,  medicine,  botany, 
geography,  arithmetic,  architecture,  social  duties,  eti- 
quette, and  even  trades,  were  taught.  Indeed,  it  was 
the  boast  of  eminent  Eabbis  that  they  had  learned  a 
trade,  and  could,  if  need  be,  support  themselves  by 
their  own  hands,  without  depending  upon  fees  for  tui- 
tion ;  and  they  prided  themselves  upon  titles  derived 
from  trades ;  —  as.  Rabbi  Simon,  the  tveaver ;  Rabbi 
Ismael,  the  needle-maJier  ;  Rabbi  Jochanan,  the  shoemaker. 
This  will  suggest  Paul's  occupation,  that  of  a  tent- 
maker. 

Besides  the  teaching  of  these  high  schools  or  col- 
leges, instruction  was  provided  for  children,  and 
throughout  Palestine  there  prevailed  no  inconsiderable 
zeal  in  the  cause  of  popular  education.  Through  the 
more  elementary  schools  it  is  almost  certain  that  Jesus 
and  his  disciples  had  passed,  and  equally  sure  that  they 
had  not  studied  in  the  higher  seminaries  or  colleges. 

The  method  of  instruction  pursued  in  Jewish  schools 
throws  light  upon  the  course  pursued  by  our  Lord. 
The  mode  of  imparting  knowledge  was  chiefly  cate- 
chetical. After  the  master  had  lectured,  the  pupils 
asked  questions.  To  stir  up  their  pupils  if  they  grew 
dull,  allegories,  riddles,  and  stories  were  introduced. 
The  parable  was  a  favorite  device  with  the  Jewish 
teacher.  He  often  propounded  questions,  and,  if  his 
pupils  could  not  answer,  solved  them  himself  Christ's 
method  then  was  that  of  his  age  and  countrymen,  with 
only  such  differences  as  might  arise  from  different  per- 
sonality. Instruction  from  village  to  village ;  a  com- 
pany of  pupils  going  with  him,  both  as  learners  and 
assistants  j  the  familiar  and  colloquial  style  of  discourse ; 


A  TIME  OF  JOY.  .  297 

the  use  of  parables  and  of  enigmatical  sentences ;  — 
these  were  all  familiar  to  his  times.  It  was  in  matter, 
and  not  in  manner,  that  he  differed  from  ordinary 
teachers. 

The  time  had  now  come  for  the  permanent  forma- 
tion of  his  disciple-family,  and  it  took  place  at  or  near 
Capernaum.  We  are  charmed  with  the  picture  which 
is  given  of  the.  morning  scene  on  the  shores  of  Genesa- 
reth.  It  breathes  the  very  air  of  reality,  and  its  sim- 
plicity gives  a  clear  picture  of  our  Lord's  manner.  It 
was  early  dawn,  and  those  whose  avocations  called 
them  to  the  busy  shore  were  making  the  most  of  the 
cool  hours.  Jesus  came  quietly  to  the  water's  edge, 
and  stood  watching  certain  fishermen  who  had  hauled 
their  nets  upon  the  beach  and  were  washing  and 
putting  them  in  order.  He  was  not  left  to  himself; 
for  the  people,  as  soon  as  they  knew  him,  began  to 
press  around  him  with  questions  and  solicitations. 
As  they  began  to  close  in,  he  stepped  upon  one 
of  the  fishing-boats,  and,  pushing  out  a  little,  turned 
to  the  rude  but  eager  crowd  and  delivered  a  dis- 
course to  them.  His  theme  was  doubtless  taken  from 
something  which  lay  before  him.  That  was  his  cus- 
tom. Both  text  and  sermon  have  perished  with  the 
people  to  whom  they  were  spoken.  As  soon  as  he  had 
finished,  he  commanded  Simon  to  push  out  into  deep 
water  and  let  down  his  net.  Simon,  prompt  to  speak 
and  over-confident,  first  excused  himself  on  the  ground 
that  they  had  been  trying  all  night  and  that  there  was 
no  use  in  trying  again ;  and  then,  having  eased  his  wil- 
fulness, he  complied  with  the  request.  No  sooner  was 
this  done  than  such  a  multitude  of  fish  was  secured  as 
they  had  never  seen  at  any  time  before.   Indeed,  Simon 


298  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

saw  in  it  a  Divine  power.  His  boldness  and  familiarity 
forsook  liim.  He  stood  before  a  superior  being,  and  his 
own  unworthiness  was  the  first  impression  which  seized 
him.  "  He  fell  down  at  Jesus's  knees,  saying.  Depart 
from  me ;  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  0  Lord."  Not  far 
away  were  the  brothers,  James  and  John,  who  had 
a  partnership  with  Simon.  Them  also  Jesus  called. 
Without  ado,  and  unhesitatingly,  they  forsook  their 
property  and  their  occupation,  and  from  this  time  did 
not  leave  him.  They  could  not  mistake  the  import  of 
his  call:  "Follow  me.  I  will  from  henceforth  make  you 
to  become  fishers  of  men."  The  whole  scene  is  natural 
and  harmonious.  There  was  no  striking  assumption  of 
authority.  Fishermen  were  approached  through  their 
own  business,  by  methods  which  were  adapted  to  their 
habits  and  ideas. 

The  call  of  Levi,  better  known  by  the  name  of  Mat- 
thew, is  recorded  more  briefly.  He  was  a  tax-gatherer 
under  the  Roman  government.  It  was  an  ungracious 
office.  It  was  the  last  j)osition  in  which  to  look  for  an 
apostle.  Collecting  customs-dues  of  his  own  people 
to  feed  the  court  of  Herod  and  to  uphold  the  Roman 
usurpation,  with  profit  to  himself,  was  not  likely  to 
endear  him  to  his  countrymen,  nor  to  prepare  his  own 
heart  for  the  unremunerative  and  wandering  life  of 
self-denial  to  which  he  was  called.  Yet  there  was  in 
the  few  simple  words  of  Jesus  a  charm  that  wrought 
instantly.  "Follow  me."  "And  he  arose,"  (" left  all," 
says  Luke,)  "  and  followed  him." 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  Matthew,  like  Simon,  John, 
James,  and  Philip,  had  already  been  a  disciple  of  Christ, 
and  like  them  had  never  separated  himself  from  his 
regular  business  j  so  that  the  call,  Avhich  seems  to  us 


A   TIME   OF  JOY.  ^  299 

SO  sudden,  was  far  less  peremptory  and  unexpected  to 
liini  than  it  seems  in  the  narrative. 

We  are  not  to  confound  the  outside  discijoles  of  Christ 
with  the  inner  circle,  —  the  family  of  his  Apostles,  — 
who  were  called  "  that  they  should  be  with  him,  and  that 
he  might  send  them  forth  to  preach."  His  Apostles 
were  disciples,  but  all  his  disciples  were  not  Apostles. 

There  was  collected  in  every  circuit  a  large  discij^le 
band  without  organization,  attached  to  his  ministrations, 
rather  than  to  his  person.  Of  the  company  of  twelve 
disciples  there  were  three  pairs  of  brothers.  All  of 
them  were  Galileans.  All  were  from  the  humbler 
walks  of  life,  though  in  several  instances  they  were 
not  poor.  Levi  had  a  house  of  his  own,  and  could  give 
to  his  Master  a  "  great  feast."  James  and  John,  sons 
of  Zebedee,  conducted  a  business  which  enabled  them 
to  employ  under-servants ;  and  their  mother,  Salome, 
"  ministered  of  her  substance  "  to  the  Master's  support. 
It  is  impossible,  from  the  materials  at  our  command,  to 
ascertain  upon  what  principle  of  selection  the  disciples 
were  gathered.  But  few  of  them  asserted  any  such 
individuality  as  to  bring  their  names  into  view  during 
the  ministry  of  Jesus. 

The  evil  record  of  Judas  will  keep  his  name  in 
memory.  Peter  was  conspicuous  through  the  whole 
career.  John  was  specially  associated  with  the  Master. 
With  Peter  and  John  was  associated  James,  though 
little  except  his  name  appears  in  the  Gospel  narra- 
tives. They  were  all  selected  from  the  common  walks 
of  life.  None  of  them  give  evidence  of  peculiar  depth 
of  religious  feeling.  None  except  John  ever  exhibited 
any  traits  of  genius.  That  they  were  subject  to  the 
common   faults   of   humanity  abundantly  appears   in 


300  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

their  disputes  among  themselves,  in  their  worldly  am- 
bitions, in  the  plotting  to  supersede  each  other,  in 
their  rash  and  revengeful  imprecations  of  judgments 
upon  the  villagers  who  had  treated  Jesus  with  disre- 
spect, and  in  their  utter  lack  of  courage  when  the  final 
catastrophe  was  approaching.  They  partook  of  all  the 
errors  of  their  age.  They  were  as  little  competent  to 
understand  the  spiritual  teachings  of  their  Master  as 
were  the  average  of  their  countrymen.  They  believed 
in  an  earthly  kingdom  for  the  Messiah,  and,  with  the 
rest  of  their  people,  anticipated  a  carnal  triumph  of  the 
Jews  over  all  their  enemies.  They  could  not  be  made 
to  understand  that  their  Master  was  to  be  put  to  death ; 
and  when  he  was  arrested,  they  "  all  forsook  him  and 
fled."  They  hovered  in  bewilderment  around  the  sol- 
emn tragedy ;  but  only  one  of  them,  John,  had  the 
courage  to  be  present  and  near  at  the  crucifixion  of 
their  Teacher.  Looking  externally  upon  these  men, 
contrasting  them  with  such  as  Nicodemus  and  Joseph 
of  Arimathea,  the  question  arises  whether  among  all 
the  more  highly  cultivated  Jews,  among  the  Phar- 
isees and  doctors,  there  might  not  have  been  found 
sincere  men,  of  deeply  religious  natures,  of  educated 
intelligence,  who,  under  the  same  amount  of  personal 
instruction,  would  have  been  far  more  capable  of  car- 
rying forward  the  work  of  the  new  kingdom.  All 
that  can  be  known  is,  that  Jesus  chose  his  disciples,  not 
from  Judaea,  but  from  Galilee,  far  away  from  the  Temj^le 
influence  and  in  a  province  much  affected  by  the  for- 
eign spirit ;  that  he  selected  them,  not  from  the  specifi- 
cally religious  class,  but  from  the  working  people. 
None  are  mentioned  as  taken  from  agricultural  pur- 
suits, and  all  whose  occupations  are  mentioned  were 


A   TIME   OF  JOY.  301 

more  or  less  concerned  with  commerce.  That  there 
were  reasons  in  his  own  mind  for  the  selection  none 
can  doubt,  and  none  can  ever  know  what  the  rea- 
sons were.  That  he  felt  for  his  immediate  followers 
a  strong  affection  is  plain,  and  that  his  regard  was 
strengthened  to  the  end  of  his  life  can  be  doubted  by 
none  who  read  those  incomparable  discourses  of  love 
which  immediately  preceded  his  arrest,  and  which  John 
alone  records,  —  John,  the  most  impassioned,  the  most 
susceptible,  and  at  length  the  most  perfect  representa- 
tive of  his  Master's  spirit. 

It  Avill  be  well  to  look  back,  before  considering  that 
remarkable  discourse  of  Christ's,  familiarly  called  the 
"  Sermon  on  the  Mount,"  and  to  consider  the  character 
of  his  teaching  in  this  the  first  period  of  his  ministry. 
"We  shall  be  struck  with  three  things :  the  stimulating 
character  indicated,  the  remarkable  partnership  of  word 
and  deed,  and  the  absence  of  any  public  claim  to  the 
Messiahship.  This  latter  fact  is  the  more  remarkable, 
since,  in  his  conversation  with  the  woman  of  Samaria, 
he  distinctly  avows  himself  to  be  the  Messiah.  Nowhere 
is  there  evidence  that  he  proclaimed  this  truth  in  his 
public  discourses,  and  in  the  abstracts  and  fragments 
which  were  preserved  there  is  nothing  of  the  kind. 
Neither  does  there  seem  to  have  been  that  presenta- 
tion of  himself  as  the  source  of  spiritual  life  that  is 
so  wonderful  at  a  later  stage  of  his  teaching.  He  ap- 
parently aimed  first  at  the  work  of  arousing  the  moral 
sense  of  the  people.  His  characteristic  theme  at  first 
was,  "  Eepent !  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand  ! " 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  he  went  from  place  to 
place  uttering  these  words  as  a  text  or  formula.     They 


302  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

rather  describe  the  genius  of  his  preaching.  It  aroused 
in  men  an  ideal  and  expectation  of  a  nobler  life  than 
they  and  their  fellows  were  living,  and  stimulated  a 
wholesome  moral  discontent.  Men's  hearts  were  laid 
open.  Not  only  their  sins,  but  the  sources  and  motives 
of  their  evil  deeds,  were  made  bare.  Then  his  audiences 
began  to  hear  a  vivid  exposition  of  life.  Unlike  the 
Eabbis,  he  did  not  spend  his  time  in  mincing  texts  with 
barren  ingenuity.  Men  heard  their  actions  called  in 
question.  They  heard  their  pride,  their  selfishness,  their 
avarice,  their  lusts,  so  exposed  that  self-condemnation 
was  everywhere  mingled  with  wonder  and  admiration. 
The  effects  of  his  teaching  were  heightened  by  the 
humanity  of  his  miracles,  and  the  tender  sympathy 
which  he  manifested  for  the  temporal  comfort  of  men, 
as  well  as  for  their  spiritual  well-being.  Miracles  were 
not  mere  explosions  of  power,  designed  to  excite  tran- 
sient wonder.  They  were  instruments  of  kindness ; 
they  unsealed  fountains  of  joy  long  closed  ;  they  tended 
to  rectify  the  disorders  which  afflicted  thousands  of 
unhappy  and  neglected  wretches ;  they  gave  emphasis 
to  instruction ;  they  ratified  his  exhortations ;  they 
gave  solemnity  to  his  simple  methods.  The  miracles 
of  Christ  cannot  be  taken  out  of  their  life-connections 
and  analyzed  by  themselves.  They  were  to  his  teach- 
ing what  gestures  are  to  an  orator,  that  go  with  his 
thoughts,  and  taken  alone  are  of  no  value.  They  were 
the  glowing  expressions  of  sympathy.  As  in  the  moods 
of  love,  the  eye,  the  lip,  the  face,  have  expressions  that 
cannot  be  separated  from  the  emotions  which  produce 
them,  so  was  it  with  Christ's  works  of  mercy.  They 
were  not  philosophical  experiments  upon  nature,  nor 
premeditated  evidences  of  power.    They  were  the  inspi- 


A   TIME  OF  JOY.  303 

rations  of  a  tender  sympathy  with  human  suffering,  the 
flashes  of  the  Hght  of  love,  the  arms  of  God  stretched 
forth  for  the  rescue  or  consolation  of  the  poor  and  needy. 

While  the  early  preachmg  of  Jesus  seems  to  have 
been  of  the  most  arousing  character,  we  are  not  to  sup- 
pose that  instructiveness  was  sacrificed,  nor  that  the 
next  period,  beginning  with  the  "  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,"  was  devoid  of  pimgency  because  the  instruc- 
tive elements  predominated.  Only  to  arouse  men,  and 
to  leave  them  no  solid  substance  of  thought,  is  to  kindle 
a  fire  of  shavings  that  but  flames  up  and  dies  in  ashes. 

The  words  of  Christ,  primarily  addressed  to  the  peo- 
ple of  his  own  age  and  country,  carried  in  them  truths 
so  deep  and  universal,  that,  like  an  inexhaustible  soil, 
they  have  fed  the  roots  of  religious  life  for  the  world 
ever  since,  and  have  had  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  intel- 
lect and  the  fancy  than  that  Grecian  literature  which 
for  philosophical  acuteness,  for  grace,  and  for  quali- 
ties of  the  imagination  would  seem  far  more  likely  to 
control  the  world  of  thought  than  the  homely  domes- 
tic aphorisms  and  parables  of  the  Saviour.  In  every 
element  of  external  excellence  the  Greek  surpassed 
the  Hebrew.  But  the  Hebrew  carried  in  his  soul  two 
worlds,  the  Greek  only  one.  The  Greek  was  busy  with 
the  world  he  lived  in ;  the  Hebrew  concerned  himself 
with  the  folks  that  lived  in  the  world.  More  than 
this,  it  was  the  inspiration  of  the  life  to  come  that 
g«ave  such  enduring  force  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus. 
His  sympathy  with  both  sides  of  human  experience,  its 
joy  and  its  sorrow,  its  genial  domestic  tranquillity  and 
its  outreach  and  enterprise,  its  sweet  contentment  and 
its  passionate  aspiration,  gave  to  his  teachings  a  qual- 
ity not  to  be  found  in  any  school  but  his.     And,  above 


304  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

all  other  things,  his  teachings  had  himself  for  a  back- 
ground. He  was  the  perpetual  illustration  of  his  own 
words,  the  interpretation  of  the  deeper  spiritual  enigmas. 
And  yet  there  is  an  important  sense  in  which  the 
preaching  of  Jesus  was  strangely  unworldly.  It  was 
not  such  discourse  as  in  Greece  made  orators  flmious. 
So  devoid  was  it  of  secular  elements,  that  one  would 
not  know  from  it  that  Palestine  was  overrun  with  for- 
eigners, —  that  the  iron  hand  and  iron  heel  of  Eome 
wellnigh  pressed  the  life  out  of  the  nation,  —  that  the 
provinces  were  glowing  with  luxuries,  cities  everywhere 
springing  up,  while  the  people,  ground  down  by  extor- 
tion, were  becoming  Avretched  and  desj)erate.  Jesus 
was  a  Jew,  suscejDtible  and  sympathetic  to  a  remarka- 
ble degree.  There  was  never  such  a  field  for  patriotic 
oratory.  But  amid  insurrections  cruelly  quelled,  amid 
the  anguish  of  his  people,  he  let  fall  no  single  word  of 
secular  eloquence.  Amidst  the  tumults  of  war  and  the 
prodigalities  of  foreign  luxury  and  wasteful  dissipation 
was  heard  the  calm  discourse  of  heavenly  themes.  It 
was  of  the  soul,  of  that  new  and  possible  soul,  that  he 
spake, — and  so  spake  that  all  the  nation  took  heed,  and 
the  sordid  common  people,  rushing  after  him  for  bread, 
paused,  listened,  and,  wondering,  declared  "  he  speaks 
with  authority."  Something  more  critical  of  his  method 
of  discourse  we  shall  submit  by  and  by.  Here  we  only 
point  out  the  eminent  unworldliness  of  it,  and  the  in- 
troduction of  a  searching  personal  element  unknown 
before,  but  now  so  much  a  part  of  Christianity  that  we 
fail  to  appreciate  its  originality  in  Christ.  We  mean 
the  individuahzing  of  discourse  to  each  heart,  so  that 
every  man  felt  that  it  was  addressed  to  him,  concern- 
ing hhnself,  —  his  spiritual  self 


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'^^''''''"''  •'   '.'.'til-NKA''  •■".  .•j(;„,.ii,.i,.''r>    i     i 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  305 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  — THE  BEATITUDES. 

The  customs  of  his  country  would  naturally  lead 
Jesus  to  be  much  abroad,  and  he  seems  to  have  had 
a  peculiar  love  for  the  open  fields.  His  journeys,  his 
habits  of  teaching  by  the  way,  his  frequent  resorting 
to  the  sea-side  and  to  the  solitude  of  the  hills,  impress 
one  with  the  belief  that  he  loved  the  open  air  far 
more  than  the  house  or  the  street.  It  is  certain  that 
while  at  Capernaum  he  had  sought  out  places  of  se- 
clusion, and  had  his  own  familiar  haunts.  These  were 
not  simply  for  rest  to  the  body,  but  also  for  medita- 
tion and  for  communion  with  his  Father.  Wherever 
he  went,  Jesus  found  out  these  natural  sanctuaries ; 
while  for  the  benefit  of  others  he  often  taught  in 
synagogues  and  in  the  Temple,  for  his  own  refresh- 
ment he  loved  better  the  wilderness,  the  lake-shore, 
the  hill-top,  the  shaded  ravine,  or  the  twilight  of  the 
olive-groves. 

Such  a  resort  he  found  on  the  summit  of  Mount 
Hattin,  a  hill  rising  from  the  plain  about  seven  miles 
southwesterly  from  Capernaum.  It  was  more  an  up- 
land than  a  mountain.  The  two  horns,  or  summits, 
rise  only  sixty  feet  above  the  table-lands  which  con- 
stitute the  base,  and  the  whole  elevation  is  but  about 
a  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  From  the 
summit  toward  the  east  one  may  look  over  the  Sea  of 

20 


806  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

Galilee,  and  northward,  along  the  broken  ranges,  to  the 
snow-clad  peaks  of  Lebanon.^ 

Returning  from  a  preaching  tour,  Jesus,  and  with  him 
the  immense  and  motley  throng  that  now  everywhere 
pressed  upon  him,  reached  this  neighborhood  at  even- 
ing. Not  waiting  for  his  voluntary  blessings,  the  mul- 
titudes sought  to  touch  his  very  garments,  that  they 
might  receive  benefit  from  that  virtue  which  seemed 
to  emanate  from  his  person.  Gliding  from  among 
them  as  the  shadows  fell,  he  hid  himself  from  their 
importunity  in  some  part  of  the  mountain.  Here  he 
spent  the  night  in  prayer. 

There    is    no   part    of   the    history   of   Jesus    that 

'  "  This  mountain,  or  bill,  —  for  it  only  rises  sixty  feet  above  the  plain, — 
is  that  known  to  pilgrims  as  the  Mount  of  tbe  Beatitudes,  the  supposed 
scene  of  tbe  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Tbe  tradition  cannot  lay  claim  to 
any  early  date  ;  it  was  in  all  probability  suggested  first  to  tbe  Crusaders  by 
its  remarkable  situation.  But  that  situation  so  strikingly  coincides  with  the 
intimations  of  tbe  Gospel  narrative  as  .almost  to  force  the  inference  that  in 
this  instance  the  eyes  of  those  who  selected  the  spot  were  for  once  rightly 
directed.  It  is  the  only  height  seen  in  this  direction  from  tbe  shores  of  the 
Lake  of  Genesareth.  The  plain  on  which  it  stands  is  easily  accessible 
from  the  lake,  and  from  that  plain  to  the  summit  is  but  a  few  minutes'  walk. 
The  platform  at  the  top  is  evidently  suitable  for  the  collection  of  a  multi- 
tude, and  corresponds  precisely  to  the  '  level  place  '  (Luke  vi.  1 7,  mis- 
translated '  plain  ')  to  which  he  would  '  come  down '  as  from  one  of  its 
higher  horns  to  address  the  people.  Its  situation  is  central  both  to  the 
peasants  of  the  Galilean  bills  and  the  fishermen  of  the  Galilean  lake,  be- 
tween which  it  stands,  and  would  therefore  be  a  natural  resort  both  to 
Jesus  and  bis  disciples  (Matthew  iv.  25 — v.  1)  when  they  retired  for 
solitude  from  tbe  shores  of  tbe  sea,  and  also  to  the  crowds  who  assembled 
'  from  Galilee,  from  Dccapolis,  from  Jerusalem,  from  Juda2a,  and  from  be- 
yond Jordan.'  None  of  the  other  mountains  in  the  neighborhood  could 
answer  equally  well  to  this  description,  inasmuch  as  they  are  merged  into 
the  uniform  barrier  of  hills  round  the  lake,  whereas  this  stands  separate,  — 
'  the  mountain,'  —  which  alone  could  lay  claim  to  a  distinct  name,  with  the 
exception  o^  the  one  height  of  Tabor,  which  is  too  distant  to  answer  the 
requirements." — Stanley's  Sinai  and  Palestine,  pp.  360,  361  (2d  ed. 
368,  369). 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  307 

stirs  the  imagination  more  profoundly  than  these  sol- 
itary nights,  in  lonely  places,  spent  in  prayer.  It 
surely  was  not  a  service  of  mere  recitation,  nor  such 
implorations  as  the  soul,  wounded  by  sin,  full  of  fear 
and  remorse,  pours  out  before  God.  We  must  con- 
ceive of  it  as  a  holy  conference  with  God.  He  who 
came  down  from  heaven  again  returns  to  its  com- 
munion. Weighed  down  and  impaired  by  evil,  the 
soul  of  man  sometimes  rises  above  the  consciousness 
of  its  bodily  condition,  and  rejoices  in  an  almost  ac- 
complished liberty.  Much  more  may  we  suppose  that 
in  these  hours  of  retirement  the  sinless  soul  of  the 
Saviour,  loosed  from  all  consciousness  of  physical  fa- 
tigue, hunger,  or  slumberous  languor,  rejoined  its  noble 
companions,  tasted  again  its  former  liberty,  and  walked 
with  God.  But  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  in  these 
exalted  hours  he  forgot  those  who  all  day  long  tasked 
his  sympathy.  Did  not  he  who  on  the  cross  prayed 
for  his  enemies,  on  the  mountain  pray  for  his  friends  ? 
Did  not  he  who  now  "  ever  liveth  to  make  interces- 
sion "  for  his  followers  intercede  often,  when  he  was 
with  them,  for  the  throng  of  ignorant,  impoverished, 
bewildered  people  that  swarmed  about  his  footsteps  ? 

Neither  Mark  nor  John  mentions  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  which  was  delivered  on  the  morninsr  followins: 
this  retirement.  Luke  gives  a  condensed  report  of  it, 
adding,  however,  the  woes  which  correspond  to  the 
Beatitudes.  Matthew  gives  by  far  the  fullest  recital 
of  it.  Luke  says  that  he  stood  upon  the  plain  (or, 
a  level  place),  but  Matthew,  that  he  went  up  out  of 
the  plain  to  the  mountain,  and  there  delivered  the 
discourse.  When,  after  a  night  of  prayer,  Jesus  came 
down  to  the  lower  parts  of  the  hill,  he  found  there  the 


308  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

great  crowds  which  the  day  before  had  attended  hnn. 
Nor  is  it  unlikely  that  he  addressed  to  them  words 
of  instruction.  Then,  withdrawing  higher  up  the  hill, 
accoinj)anied  by  the  Apostles  and  by  numbers  of  his 
general  disciples,  he  sat  down,  as  was  the  manner  of 
Jewish  instructors,  and  delivered  the  discourse  record- 
ed by  Matthew.  Luke,  not  having  been  a  witness 
of  the  scene,  and  manifestly  giving  but  a  partial  and 
general  account  of  it,  naturally  speaks  of  the  sermon 
as  delivered  on  the  plain,  because  the  multitude  was 
there,  and  because  Jesus  came  down  and  began  his 
instructions  there.  Matthew,  who  was  present  as  one 
of  the  recently  selected  Apostles,  gives  the  main  dis- 
course of  the  day,  and  states  also,  that,  on  account  of 
the  multitude,  Jesus  retired  farther  up  the  mountain 
before  delivering  it.  But  though  addressed  to  his 
more  immediate  disciples,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  they  alone  heard  the  discourse.  It  was  natural 
that  many  of  the  throng  should  follow  them.  This 
would  be  especially  the  case  with  those  in  whose 
hearts  the  word  had  begun  to  excite  a  spiritual  hun- 
ger, and  who,  though  not  ready  to  call  themselves 
disciples,  lost  no  opportunity  of  increasing  their 
knowledge. 

The  opinion  that  Matthew  collected  from  his  Mas- 
ter's various  teachings  at  different  times  the  ele- 
ments of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  arranged 
them  into  one  discourse,  although  formerly  hold  by 
many,  and  by  one  of  no  less  repute  than  Calvin,  has 
lost  ground,  and  is  now  taught  by  only  a  few.  The 
fact  that  portions  of  the  matter  of  this  sermon  ap- 
pear in  the  other  Gospels  as  spoken  under  different 
circumstances  may  make   it  probable  that  Jesus  re- 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  309 

peated  important  truths  or  striking  illustrations  to 
different  audiences.^  It  is  not,  therefore,  unlikely  that 
portions  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  were  thus  de- 
livered elsewhere  and  under  other  circumstances. 

That  contrast  between  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
and  the  giving  of  the  law  on  Sinai,  which  from  an 
early  day  it  has  been  the  delight  of  commentators  to 
suggest,  has  in  fact  more  reason  than  one  is  likely 
at  first  to  suppose.  No  contrast  could  be  greater 
than  the  gaunt  and  barren  wilderness  of  Sinai  and 
the  luxuriant  fields  of  Galilee  about  the  Sea  of  Ge- 
nesareth ;  nor  could  the  blighted  peaks  of  Sinai  well 
have  a  more  absolute  contrast  than  in  the  fruitful 
slopes  of  Hattin,  which  in  successive  ledges  declined 
toward  the  lake,  at  every  step  beautiful  with  diver- 
sified vegetation  and  redolent  with  the  odors  of  fruits 
and  blossoms.  If  the  more  ancient  assembly  were 
taking  the  first  steps  from  a  servile  existence  to  a 
national  life  of  independence,  so  the  multitudes  that 
thronged  to  hear  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  were  about 
to  be  inducted  into  a  new  spiritual  life.  The  law  given 
from  Sinai  was  a  law  of  morality,  and  chiefly  concerned 
the  outward  conduct.  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is 
likewise  a  discourse  of  .morality,  but  transcendently 
higher  than  that  which  was  written  upon  the  tables  of 
stone.  The  root  of  morality  is  always  the  same,  but 
at  different  stages  of  its  growth  it  puts  forth  different 
developments.  In  the  early  and  rude  state  of  nations 
it  concerns  itself  with  outward  affairs,  rigorously  guards 
the  laws  by  which  alone  society  can  exist,  and  pre- 

'  Compare  Matthew  v.  18,  and  Luke  xii.  58;  Matthew  vi.  19-21,  and 
Luke  xii.  33  ;  Matthew  vi.  24,  and  Luke  xvi.  13  ;  Matthew  vii.  13,  and  Luke 
xiii.  24  ;  Matthew  vii.  22,  and  Luke  xiii.  25-27. 


310  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

serves  the  life,  the  person,  and  the  jDroperty  of  the  citi- 
zen. As  civiKzation  refines  men's  nature,  and  brino-s 
into  power  more  of  reason  and  of  moral  sentiment, 
morality,  still  guarding  external  things,  adds  to  its 
charge  the  interior  qualities  of  the  disposition,  and 
holds  men  responsible,  not  only  for  actions,  but  for  the 
motives  of  action.  It  extends  its  sway  over  the  realm 
of  thought,  emotion,  and  the  will.  Thus  it  adds  prov- 
ince to  province,  until  the  boundary  between  morality 
and  the  purest  spiritual  religion  is  indistinguishable  ; 
and  men  at  length  see  that  morality,  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  the  term,  is  rehgion  applied  to  human  con- 
duct, while  religion  is  but  morality  acting  in  the 
sphere  of  the  sj^iritual  sentiments. 

Jesus  came  to  bring  a  new  growth  to  the  old  roots, 
to  bring  into  bloom  that  which  had  only  shown  leaves, 
and  into  fruit  that  which  had  hitherto  only  blossomed. 
All  the  superstitions  and  burdensome  ceremonials 
which  overlaid  the  simplicity  of  the  original  statutes 
of  Moses  were  to  be  rescinded,  and  the  machinery  of 
the  Mosaic  Law  itself,  not  the  moral  element  of  it,  was 
to  be  abrogated.  But  that  great  law  of  universal  love 
which  w\as  to  bind  men  to  each  other,  and  all  of  them 
to  God,  Jesus  declared  to  be  p.t  the  foundation  of  the 
Jewish  religion.  The  whole  civil  and  ceremonial  sys- 
tem of  the  Hebrews  aimed  at  the  production  of  uni- 
versal love. 

One  would  scarcely  know  from  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  whether  the  Jews  had  altar  or  temple,  priests  or 
ritual.  The  pure  wheat  is  here  garnered ;  the  straw  and 
chaff,  so  needful  for  its  growth,  but  now  in  its  ripe- 
ness so  useless,  and  even  pernicious,  were  cleared  away. 
It  is  a  discourse  of  the  past  for  the  sake  of  the  future. 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  311 

To  interpret  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  as  the 
charter  of  Christianity,  is  to  misconceive  not  only  this 
discourse,  but  the  very  nature  of  Christianity  itself, 
which  is  not  a  system  of  new  truths,  but  a  higher 
development  of  existing  forces. 

The  fulness  of  time  had  come.  Man  was  to  be  lifted 
to  a  higher  plane,  and  made  accessible  to  more  power- 
ful influences  than  could  be  exerted  through  the  old 
dispensation.  Out  of  that  grand  renewal  of  human 
nature  there  would  spring  up  truths  innumerable,  the 
products  of  Christianity.  But  Christianity  itself  was 
not  a  system  of  truths,  nor  the  result  of  a  system  of 
truths,  but  a  name  for  living  forces.  It  was  a  new 
dispensation  of  power,  an  efflux  of  the  Divine  Spirit, 
developing  the  latent  sjDiritual  forces  in  man.  It 
was  the  kingdom  of  God  among  men.  It  was  like 
the  diffusion  of  a  new  and  more  fervid  climate  over 
a  whole  continent.  A  development  and  perfection 
would  follow,  never  before  known,  and  impossible  to 
a  lower  temperature.  The  one  silver  thread  which 
runs  through  the  Gospels  and  the  Epistles,  and  binds 
them  into  unity,  is  the  indwelling  of  the  Divine  Spirit 
in  the  human  soul,  and  the  enlarged  scope  and  power 
of  human  life  by  reason  of  it. 

John  saw  the  radiant  kingdom  descending  when  he 
cried,  "  There  cometh  one  mightier  than  I  after  me, 
....  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 
And  when  Jesus  came,  the  same  truth  was  thrown 
forward  in  advance  of  all  others :  "  The  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  at  hand.  Cast  out  all  evil !  Lay  open 
your  souls  to  the  Divine  coming  !  "  Repentance  and 
forgiveness  were  not  the  gospel.  The  kingdom  of 
God  among  men,  an  exaltation  of  the    race    by  the 


312  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

Divine  union  with  it,  the  wisdom  of  God  and  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation,  —  this  was  the  good 
news. 

But  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  deficient  in  pre- 
cisely these  elements.  It  has  in  it  no  annunciation 
of  a  new  dispensation.  That  flame  of  fire,  the  Spirit 
of  God,  is  not  mentioned.  Jesus  does  not  there  claim 
for  himself  any  vital  relation  to  the  human  soul; 
that  faith  which  so  largely  filled  his  subsequent 
teachings  is  not  alluded  to.  He  does  not  even  claim 
the  Messiahship.  There  is  no  word  of  his  suffer- 
ings and  death,  nor  of  his  future  mediation,  nor  of 
the  doctrine  of  repentance  and  the  new  birth.  Can 
that  be  an  epitome  of  Christianity  which  leaves  out 
the  great  themes  w^hich  filled  the  later  teaching  of 
Je?us  ? 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  gathers  up  the  sum  of  all 
that  had  been  gained  under  the  Jewish  dispensation, — 
distinguishes  between  the  original  and  genuine  ele- 
ments of  truth  in  the  Jewish  belief,  and  the  modern 
and  perverse  inculcations  of  the  Rabbis,  —  and,  above 
all,  gives  to  familiar  things  a  new  spiritual  force  and 
authority. 

At  the  threshold  of  the  new  life  it  was  wise  to  ascer- 
tain what  was  real  and  what  fictitious  in  the  belief  of 
the  people.  A  repudiation  of  the  Law  and  the  prophets 
would  have  bewildered  their  moral  sense  -,  but  the 
truth  of  their  fathers,  cleansed  from  glosses,  pure 
and  simple,  would  become  the  instrument  for  work- 
ing that  very  repentance  which  would  prepare  them 
for  the  new  life  of  God  in  the  soul. 

Men  are  fond  of  speaking  of  the  originality  of  the 
Sermon  on  the   Mount;    but  originality  would   have 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  313 

defeated  its  very  aim.  All  growth  must  sprout  from 
roots  pre-existing  in  the  soul.  There  can  be  no  new, 
except  by  the  heljD  of  some  old.  To  have  spread  out  a 
novel  field  of  unfamiliar  truth  before  the  people  might 
have  led  them  to  speculation,  but  could  not  have 
aroused  their  conscience,  nor  rebuked  the  degradation 
of  their  natures  and  the  sordidness  of  their  lives.  It 
was  the  very  aim  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  to  place 
before  the  Jews,  in  the  clearest  light,  the  great  truths 
out  of  which  sprung  their  Law  and  their  prophets,  as  a 
preparation  for  the  new  and  higher  developments  that 
would  come  afterwards.  In  so  doing  Jesus  put  him- 
self into  the  confidence  of  his  own  people.  To  the 
sober-minded  among  his  countrymen  he  never  seemed 
a  subverter  of  Hebrew  customs,  or  an  innovator  upon 
the  national  religion.  He  was  recognized  ever3''w^ere 
by  the  common  people,  and  by  all  earnest  natures  not 
wrought  into  the  Pharisaic  party,  as  a  genuine  Hebrew 
prophet,  standing  on  the  very  ground  of  the'  fathers, 
and  enunciating  old  and  familiar  truths,  but  giving  to 
them  a  scope  and  a  spiritual  elevation  which,  though 
new,  was  neither  strange  nor  unnatural. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  then,  being  in  the  nature 
of  an  historical  review,  could  not  be  original.  It  was  a 
criticism  of  the  received  doctrine.  Every  part  of  it 
brings  down  to  us  the  odor  and  flavor  of  the  best  days 
and  the  ripest  things  of  the  Old  Testament  dispensa- 
tion. It  was  the  mount  from  which  men  looked  over 
into  the  promised  land  of  the  spirit.  Even  the  Beati- 
tudes, an  exquisite  prelude,  which  seems  like  a  solemn 
hymn  sung  before  a  service,  are  but  a  collection  and 
better  ordering  of  maxims  or  aphorisms  which  existed 
in  the  Old  Testament. 


314  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

Already  Isaiah  had  heard  God  saying,  "  I  dwell  in 
the  high  and  holy  place,  with  him  also  that  is  of  a 
contrite  and  humble  spirit."  And  the  Psalmist  had 
said,  "  A  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  0  God,  thou  wilt 
not  despise."  Already  the  prophet  had  promised 
"  Beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and 
the  garment  of  jDraise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness " ; 
and  the  wise  man  had  said,  "  Sorrow  is  better  than 
laughter."  From  the  Psalmist  were  taken  almost  the 
words  of  benediction  to  the  meek :  "  The  meek  shall 
inherit  the  earth,  and  shall  delight  themselves  in  the 
abundance  of  peace."  Where  is  there  a  hunger  and 
thirst  of  the  soul,  if  it  be  not  recorded  in  the  forty- 
second  Psalm?  This  Psalm  is  broken  into  two,  the 
forty-second  and  forty-third,  and  three  times  the  re- 
frain comes  in,  "  I  shall  yet  praise  him  who  is  the  help 
of  my  countenance."  There  are  abundant  blessings 
pronounced  upon  the  merciful,  upon  the  pure  in  heart, 
upon  the  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake  ;  and  even 
in  the  old  warlike  age  peace  was  not  uncelebrated. 
If  there  be  no  distinct  blessing  for  peacemakers,  there 
are  numberless  woes  denounced  against  those  who  stir 
up  strife  and  cruel  war. 

The  Beatitudes,  then,  were  not  new  principles  ;  the 
truth  in  them  had  been  recognized  before.  They  were 
truths  hidden  in  the  very  nature  of  the  soul,  and,  in 
the  best  sense,  natural.  But  formerly  they  lay  scat- 
tered as  pearls  not  detached  from  the  parent  shell,  or 
as  rough  diamonds  unground.  Here  they  first  appear 
in  brilliant  setting.  They  are  no  longer  happy  say- 
ings, but  sovereign  principles.  They  always  spoke 
with  instructlvencss,  but  now  with  authority,  as  if  they 
wore  crowns  upon  their  heads. 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  315 

There  was  a  noble  strangeness  in  them.  The  whole 
world  was  acting  in  a  spirit  contrary  to  them.  They 
conflicted  with  every  sentiment  and  maxim  of  common 
life.  On  a  lonely  hill-top  sat  one  known  to  have  been 
reared  as  a  mechanic,  pronouncing  to  a  group  of  peas- 
ants, fishermen,  mechanics,  and  foreigners  the  sublime 
truths  of  the  higher  and  interior  life  of  the  soul,  which 
have  since  by  universal  consent  been  deemed  the  no- 
blest utterances  of  earth.  The  traveller  may  to-day 
stand  in  Antwerp,  near  the  old  cathedral,  hearing  all 
the  clatter  of  business,  a  thousand  feet  tramping  close 
up  to  the  walls  and  buttresses  against  which  lean 
the  booths,  a  thousand  tongues  rattling  the  language 
of  traffic,  when,  as  the  hour  strikes  from  above,  a 
shower  of  notes  seems  to  descend  from  the  spire,  — 
bell  notes,  fine,  sweet,  small  as  a  bird's  warble,  the 
whole  air  full  of  crisp  tinklings,  underlaid  by  the 
deeper  and  sonorous  tones  of  large  bells,  but  all  of 
them  in  fit  sequences  pouring  forth  a  melody  that 
seems  unearthly,  and  the  more  because  in  such  con- 
trast with  the  scenes  of  vulgar  life  beneath.  In  some 
such  way  must  these  words  have  fallen  upon  the  mul- 
titude. 

Whether  the  audience  felt  tire  sweetness  and  ex- 
quisite beauty  of  Christ's  opening  sentences  we  can- 
not know.  They  are  the  choicest  truths  of  the  old 
dispensation  set  to  the  spirit  of  the  new.  But  not 
until,  like  bells,  they  were  thus  set  in  chimes  and 
rung  in  the  spirit  and  melody  of  the  spiritual  age, 
could  one  have  dreamed  how  noble  they  were.  And 
what  blessings  !  When  before  did  such  a  company 
of  ills  and  misfortunes  find  themselves  mustered  and 
renamed  ?     No  word  of  commendation  for  wealth,  or 


316  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

favor,  or  high  estate,  or  j)ower,  or  pleasure.  For  all 
that  the  world  was  striving  after  with  incessant  indus- 
try there  was  no  benediction.  Congratulations  were 
reserved  for  the  evils  which  all  men  dreaded,  —  pov- 
erty, sorrow,  persecution,  and  the  hatred  of  men, —  or 
for  qualities  which  men  thought  to  be  the  signs  of 
weakness.  Could  his  disciples  understand  such  para- 
doxes? We  know  that  they  did  not  until  after  the 
descent  upon  them  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  at  a  later  day. 
Still  less  would  the  rude  multitude  comprehend  such 
mysterious  sayings,  so  profoundly  true,  but  true  in 
relation  to  conditions  of  soul  of  which  they  had  no 
conception.  The  real  man  was  invisible  to  their  eyes. 
Only  the  outward  life  was  known  to  them,  the  life  of 
the  body,  and  of  the  mind  only  as  the  ready  minister 
to  bodily  enjoyments ! 

"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit." 

Not  poverty  of  thought,  nor  of  courage,  nor  of 
emotion,  —  not  empty-mindedness,  nor  any  idea  im- 
plying a  real  lack  of  strength,  variety,  and  richness  of 
nature,  —  was  here  intended.  It  was  to  be  a  con- 
sciousness of  moral  incompleteness.  As  the  sense 
of  poverty  in  this  world's  goods  inspires  men  to  en- 
terprise, so  the  consciousness  of  a  poverty  of  man- 
liness might  be  expected  to  lead  to  earnest  endeav- 
ors for  moral  growth.  This  first  sentence  was  aimed 
full  at  that  supreme  self-complacency  which  so  gener- 
ally resulted  from  the  school  of  the  Pharisee.  Paul's 
interpretation  of  his  own  experience  illustrates  the 
predominant  spirit.  He  once  had  no  higher  idea  of 
character  than  that  inculcated  in  the  Law  of  Moses, 
and  he  wrote  of  his  attainments  :  "  Touching  the  right- 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  317 

eousness  which  is  in  the  law,  blameless."  (Phil.  iii.  6.) 
He  was  a  perfect  man ! 

The  land  was  full  of  "  perfect  men."  Groups  of 
them  were  to  be  found  in  every  synagogue.  To  be 
sure  they  were  worldly,  selfish,  ambitious,  vindictive, 
but  without  the  consciousness  of  being  the  worse 
for  all  that.  Rigorous  exactitude  in  a  visible  routine 
gave  them  the  right  to  thank  God  that  they  were  not 
as  other  men  were.  For  such  men,  in  such  moods, 
there  could  be  no  spiritual  kingdom.  They  could 
never  sympathize  with  that  new  life  which  was  com- 
ing upon  the  world,  in  which  the  treasures  were 
"love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
faith,  meekness,  temperance."  (Gal.  v.  22,  23.)  But 
those  who  painfully  felt  the  poverty  of  their  inward 
nature  in  all  these  excellences  might  rise  to  the  bless- 
ings of  the  new  kingdom,  "  in  which  dwelleth  right- 
eousness." 

In  a  world  so  full  of  trouble  a  thousand  modes  of 
consolation  have  been  sought,  a  thousand  ways  of  joy. 
But  Jesus,  still  looking  upon  the  invisible  manhood, 
next  points  out  the  Divine  road  to  happiness. 

"Blessed  are  they  that  mouen." 

For  perfect  beings  sorrow  is  not  needed ;  but  to 
creatures  like  men,  seeking  to  escape  the  thrall  and 
burden  of  animal  life,  sorrow  is  helpful.  As  frosts 
unlock  the  hard  shells  of  seeds  and  help  the  germ  to 
get  free,  so  trouble  develops  in  men  the  germs  of 
force,  patience,  and  ingenuity,  and  in  noble  natures 
"works  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness."  A  gen- 
tle schoolmaster  it  is  to  those  who  are  "  exercised 
thereby."      Tears,   like    raindrops,   have    a   thousand 


318  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE   CHRIST. 

times  fallen  to  the  ground  and  come  ujd  in  flowers. 
All  the  good  in  this  world  which  has  risen  above  the 
line  of  material  comfort  has  been  born  from  some 
one's  sorrow.  We  all  march  under  a  Captain  "who 
was  made  perfect  through  sufferings " ;  and  we  are 
to  find  peace  only  as  we  learn  of  him  in  the  school 
of  patience. 

Not  less  astonishing  than  the  value  put  upon  pov- 
erty of  spirit  and  mourning  must  have  seemed  the 
next  promise  and  prediction  :  — 

"Blessed  are  the  meek,  for  they  shall  inherit 

THE   earth." 

Each  part  of  a  man's  mind  has  its  peculiar  and  dis- 
tinctive excitement.  The  passions  and  appetites  give 
forth  a  turbulent  and  exhausting  experience.  The  full 
activity  of  the  domestic  and  social  emotions  produces 
excitement  less  harsh  and  violent,  but  yet  tumultuous. 
The  highest  conditions  of  the  soul's  activity  are  serene 
and  tranquil.  It  is  to  this  superior  calm  of  a  soul  that  is 
living  in  the  continuous  activity  of  its  highest  sj)iritual 
sentiments  that  the  term  meekness  should  be  applied. 
It  designates  the  whole  temper  of  the  soul  in  the  range 
of  its  moral  and  sjDiritij^fcl  faculties.  The  appetites  and 
passions  produce  a  boisterous  agitation  too  coarse  and 
rude  for  real  pleasure.  The  affections  develop  pleas- 
ure, but  with  too  near  an  alliance  to  our  lower  na- 
ture for  tranquillity.  The  sjoiritual  portion  of  the  soul 
is  at  once  luminous  and  peaceful.  The  strength  of 
man  lies  in  those  faculties  which  are  farthest  removed 
from  his  animal  conditions.  It  is  in  the  spiritual 
nature  that  manhood  resides.  The  action  of  these 
higher  sentiments  is  so  different  in  result  from  the 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  319 

violent  agitations  of  the  appetites  and  passions,  that 
man  may  well  speak  of  himself  as  a  duality,  a  union 
of  two  distinct  persons,  not  only  of  different,  but  of 
opposite  and  contradictory  experiences.  At  the  bot- 
tom of  man's  nature  lie  rude  strength,  coarse  excite- 
ments, violent  fluctuations,  exhausting  impulses.  At 
the  top  of  man's  nature  the  soul  puts  forth  continuous 
life  almost  without  fatigue,  is  tranquil  under  intense 
activities,  and  is  full  of  the  light  of  moral  intuitions. 
Meekness  is  generally  thought  to  be  a  sweet  benig- 
nity under  provocation.  But  provocation  only  dis- 
closes, and  does  not  create  it.  It  exists  as  a  generic 
mood  or  condition  of  soul,  independent  of  those  causes 
which  may  bring  it  to  light.  In  this  state,  power  and 
peace  are  harmonized,  —  activity  aiid  tranquillity,  joy 
and  calmness,  all-seeingness  without  violence  of  desire. 
From  these  nobler  fountains  chiefly  are  to  flow  those 
influences  which  shall  control  the  world. 

Man  the  animal  has  hitherto  possessed  the  globe. 
Man  the  divine  is  yet  to  take  it.  The  struggle  is 
going  on.  But  in  every  cycle  more  and  more  does 
the  world  feel  the  superior  authority  of  truth,  purity, 
justice,  kindness,  love,  and  faith.  They  shall  yet  pos- 
sess the  earth.  In  these  three  opening  sentences  how 
deep  are  the  insights  given!  The  soul  beholds  its 
meagreness  and  poverty,  it  longs  with  unutterable  de- 
sire to  be  enriched,  it  beholds  the  ideal  state  luminous 
with  peace  and  full  of  power. 

But  now  the  discourse  rises  from  these  interior 
states  to  more  active  elements.  Amidst  the  conflict- 
ing elements  of  life  no  man  can  gain  any  important 
moral  victories  by  mere  longing,  or  by  rare  impulses, 
or  by  feeble  purposes.     If  one  would  reach  the  true 


320  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

manhood,  the  spiritual  life,  of  the  new  kingdom,  it 
must  be  by  continuous  energy  during  his  entire  career. 
In  the  whole  routine  of  daily  life,  in  the  treatment  of 
all  cares,  temptations,  strifes,  and  experiences  of  every 
kind,  the  one  predominant  purpose  must  be  the  per- 
fection of  manhood  in  ourselves. 

"Blessed  are  they  who  do  hunger  and  thirst 

AFTER   righteousness,    FOR   THEY    SHALL    BE    FILLED." 

The  life  of  the  body,  its  strength  and  skill,  are 
every  day  built  up  by  the  food  which  hunger  craves. 
And  as  hunger  is  not  a  rational  faculty,  and  does  not 
depend  upon  any  of  the  rational  faculties  for  its  action, 
but  follows  the  internal  condition  of  the  body,  and  is 
an  automatic  sign  and  signal  of  the  waste  or  repair 
going  on  within;  so  the  longing  for  uprightness  and 
goodness  must  be  a  deep-seated  and  incessant  impor- 
tunity of  the  soul's  very  substance,  as  it  were,  acting, 
not  upon  suggestion  or  special  excitement,  but  self- 
aroused  and  continuous.  To  such  a  desire  the  whole 
world  becomes  a  ministering  servant.  All  this  is 
strangely  in  contrast  with  the  life  of  man.  The  fierce 
conflict,  the  exacting  enterprise,  are  felt,  but  they  ex- 
pend themselves  upon  externals.  They  seek  to  build 
up  the  estate,  to  augment  the  power,  to  multiply 
physical  pleasures.  In  the  new  life  the  strife  and 
enterprise  are  to  be  none  the  less,  but  will  be  directed 
toward  inward  qualities. 

These  four  Beatitudes  not  only  revealed  the  Divine 
conception  of  the  new  spiritual  life,  but  the}^  stood  in 
striking  contrast  with  the  ideas  held  by  the  leaders  of 
the  Jews.  The  Pharisees  were  also  expecting  a  king- 
dom, and  great  advantage  and  delight.     They  had  no 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  321 

idea  of  the  joy  there  is  in  spiritual  sorrow.  They 
knew  nothing  of  the  sweet  tranquillity  of  meekness, 
and  to  them  nothing  seemed  so  little  likely  to  inherit 
the  earth.  Energetic  power,  invincible  zeal,  and  a 
courage  that  did  not  fear  disaster  or  death,  —  these 
would  win,  if  anything  could.  The  Beatitudes,  thus 
far,  must  have  been  profoundly  unintelligible  to 
Christ's  hearers.  What  wonder  ?  They  are  even  yet 
unii^telligible  to  mankind. 
\ 
"Blessed  aee   the   mekciful,   for   they   shall 

obtain  mercy." 

To  an  undeveloped  race,  struggling  ignorantly  for- 
ward rather  than  upward,  jostling,  contending,  quar- 
relling, —  each  man  selfish,  but  demanding  that  others 
should  be  kind,  —  each  one  unjust,  but  clamoring 
against  others  for  their  injustice,  —  each  one  exact- 
ing, severe,  or  cruel,  but  requiring  that  others  should 
be  lenient,  —  comes  the  word.  Blessed  are  the  merciful. 
No  one  thing  does  human  life  more  need  than  a  kind 
consideration  of  men's  faults.  Every  one  sins.  Every 
one  needs  forbearance.  Their  own  imperfections  should 
teach  men  to  be  merciful.  God  is  merciful  because  he 
is  perfect.  Mercy  is  an  attribute  of  high  moral  char- 
acter. As  men  grow  toward  the  Divine,  they  become 
gentle,  forgiving,  compassionate.  The  absence  of  a 
merciful  spirit  is  evidence  of  the  want  of  true  hohness. 
A  soul  that  has  really  entered  into  the  life  of  Christ 
carries  in  itself  a  store  of  nourishment  and  a  cordial 
for  helpless  souls  around  it.  Whoever  makes  his  own 
rigorous  life,  or  his  formal  propriety,  or  his  exacting 
conscience,  an  argument  for  a  condemnatory  spirit 
toward  others,  is  not  of  the  household  of  faith.     Mer- 


21 


322  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

ciless  observers  of  men's  faults,  who  delight  in  find- 
ing out  the  evil  that  is  in  their  neighbors,  who  rejoice 
in  exposing  the  sins  of  evil-doers,  or  who  find  a 
pleasure  in  commenting  upon,  or  ridiculing  the  mis- 
takes of  others,  show  themselves  to  be  ignorant  of 
the  first  element  of  the  Christian  religion. 

"  Blessed  ake  the  puke  in  heakt,  foe  they  shall 
SEE  God." 

Precisely  what  is  meant  by  ^^ purity"  has  called 
forth  much  speculation.  But  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  the  whole  discourse  contains  either  a  latent 
or  an  avowed  criticism  upon  the  prevailing  notions 
of  the  Jews  as  to  true  religion.  On  no  point  were 
the  Pharisees  more  scrupulous  than  that  of  Levitical 
purity.  This  had  no  direct  relation  in  their  minds 
to  the  inward  dispositions  and  purposes.  Impurity 
was  contracted  by  some  bodily  act,  and  was  removed 
by  some  corresponding  external  ceremony.  There 
were  some  seventy  specific  cases  of  uncleanness  de- 
scribed by  Jewish  writers,  and  others  were  possible. 
A  conscientious  man  found  his  action  limited  on  every 
hand  by  fear  of  impurity,  or  by  the  rites  of  purifica- 
tion which  were  required  in  case  of  defilement.  A 
ceremony  designed  to  inspire  a  moral  idea  by  a  physi- 
cal act  suffered  the  almost  inevitable  fate  of  symbols, 
and  ended  by  withdrawing  the  mind  from  moral  states 
and  fixing  it  superstitiously  upon  external  deeds.  The 
benediction  of  Jesus  was  upon  purity  of  Jicart,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  legal  and  ceremonial  purity.  A  state 
of  heart  in  which  all  its  parts  and  faculties  should 
be  morally  as  free  from  the  contamination  of  passion, 
selfishness,  injustice,  and  insincerity  as  the  body  and 


THE  SERMON  ON  TEE  MOUNT.  323 

its  members  might  be  from  Levitical  defilement,  was, 
without  doubt,  the  state  upon  which  the  blessing  was 
meant  to  rest.  But  the  promise  here  given,  "  they  shall 
see  God,"  assumes  a  wider  view  and  a  more  profound 
philosophy.  There  can  be  no  knowledge  of  God  in 
any  degree  moral  and  spiritual,  which  does  not  come 
to  man  throuo-h  some  form  of  moral  intuition.  To 
understand  justice,  one  must  have  some  experience  of 
justice.  There  could  arise  no  idea  of  love  in  a  soul 
that  had  never  loved,  or  of  pity  in  one  who  had 
never  experienced  compassion.  Our  knowledge  of 
the  moral  attributes  of  God  must  take  its  rise  in 
some  likeness,  or  germ  of  resemblance,  in  us  to  that 
which  we  conceive  is  the  Divine  nature.  In  propor- 
tion as  we  become  like  him,  the  elements  of  under- 
standing increase.  The  soul  becomes  an  interpreter 
through  its  own  experiences.  They  only  can  under- 
stand God  who  have  in  themselves  some  moral  resem- 
blance to  him ;  and  they  will  enter  most  largely  into 
knowledge  who  are  most  in  sympathy  with  the  Divine 
life. 

"Blessed  are  the  peacemakees,  for  they  shall 
be  called  the  children"  of  god." 

Peace  is  not  a  negative  state,  a  mere  interval  be- 
tween two  excitements.  In  its  highest  meaning  it  is 
that  serenity  which  joy  assumes,  not  only  when  single 
faculties  are  excited,  but  when  the  whole  soul  is  in 
harmony  with  itself  and  full  of  wholesome  activity. 
An  original  disposition  which  dwells  in  peace  by  the 
fulness  and  the  inspiration  of  all  its  parts  is  a  rare 
gift.  One  whose  nature  unconsciously  diffuses  peace 
is  very  near  to   God.      Jesus  himself  never  seemed 


324  TEE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

SO  divine  as  when,  on  the  eve  of  his  arrest,  with  the 
cloud  ah^eady  casting  its  shadow  upon  him,  and  every 
hour  brmging  him  consciously  nearer  to  the  great 
agony,  he  said  to  his  humble  followers  :  "  Peace  I  leave 
with  you.  My  peace  I  give  unto  you."  There  is  no 
other  sign  of  Divinity  more  eminent  than  that  of  a 
nature  which  can  breathe  upon  men  an  atmosphere  of 
peace.  They  who  can  do  this,  even  imperfectly,  have 
the  lineaments  of  their  Parent  upon  them.  They  are 
the  children  of  God. 

Far  out  from  the  centre  of  creative  power,  among 
the  elements  of  nature,  there  is  wild  turbulence,  and 
immense  energies  grapple  in  conflict.  As  the  uni- 
verse rises,  circle  above  circle,  each  successive  sj^here 
loses  something  of  strife  and  develops  some  tendency 
to  harmony.  All  perfection  tends  toward  peace.  In 
that  innermost  circle,  where  the  God  dwells  in  very 
person,  peace  eternally  reigns.  The  energy  which 
creates,  the  universal  will  which  governs,  and  the  in- 
conceivable intellect  that  watches  and  thinks  of  all 
the  realm,  have  their  highest  expression  in  a  perfect 
peace.  Thus,  though  the  lower  stages  of  being  are 
full  of  agitations,  the  higher  stages  are  tranquil.  The 
miiverse  grows  sweet  as  it  grows  ripe.  "The  God  of 
peace "  is  the  highest  expression  of  j)erfect  being. 
Whatever  distm-bance  is  raging  in  his  remote  creation, 
He  dwells  in  eternal  peace,  waiting  for  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things.  There  is,  then,  evident  reason 
why  peacemakers  "shall  be  called  the  children  of 
God." 

In  a  lower  way,  but  yet  in  close  sjTiipathy  with  this 
supreme  disposition  of  a  soul  in  harmony  with  God, 
are  to  be  included  all  voluntary  efforts  for  the  sup- 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  325 

pression  of  riotous  mischief  and  for  the  promotion  of 
kindness,  agreement,  concord,  and  peace  among  men 
and  between  nations.  While  malign  dispositions  stir 
np  strife,  a  benevolent  nature  seeks  to  allay  irritation, 
to  quiet  the  fierceness  of  temper,  and  to  subdue  all 
harsh  and  cruel  souls  to  the  law  of  kindness.  A  pacifi- 
cator will  make  himself  the  benefactor  of  any  neigh- 
borhood. 

It  is  true  that  peace  is  sometimes  so  hindered  by 
means  of  corrupt  passions  or  selfish  interests  that 
there  must  be  a  struggle  before  peace  can  exist.  "  I 
came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword," was  our  Lord's 
annunciation  of  this  fact.  A  conflict  between  the  spirit 
and  the  flesh  takes  place  in  every  individual  and  in 
every  community  that  is  growing  better.  It  is,  how- 
ever, but  transient  and  auxiliary.  Out  of  it  comes  a 
higher  life.  With  that  come  harmony  and  peace.  One 
may  sacrifice  peace  by  neglecting  to  struggle,  and  one 
may  seek  peace  by  instituting  conflicts.  Love  must 
overcome  selfishness,  even  if  the  demon  in  departing 
casts  down  its  victim  upon  the  ground  and  leaves  him 
as  one  dead. 

"Blessed  are  they  which  aee  persecuted  for 
righteousness'  sake,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom 
of  heaven." 

All  the  elements  of  human  society  were  originally 
organized  by  the  force  of  reason  acting  in  its  lowest 
plane,  —  selfishly.  Little  by  little  the  animal  gave  way 
to  the  social,  the  material  to  the  spiritual,  and  room 
began  to  be  found  in  the  secular  for  the  eternal.  It 
has  been  a  long  conflict.  It  is  a  conflict  still,  and  will 
continue  to  be  for  ages.     A  just  man  at  every  step 


326  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE   CHRIST. 

finds  some  one  whose  interests  turn  upon  injustice. 
One  cannot  make  the  truth  clear  and  stimulating  with- 
out disturbing  some  drowsy  error,  which  flies  out  of  its 
cave  and  would  extinguish  the  Hght.  Not  only  have 
pride  and  vanity  their  unlawful  sway,  but  every  pas- 
sion has  in  human  life  some  vested  interest  which 
truth  and  love  will  either  altogether  destroy,  or  great- 
ly restrain  and  regulate. 

Now,  although  the  truth  when  presented  in  its  own 
sjrmmetry  is  beautiful,  and  although  men,  unless  greatly 
perverted,  recognize  the  beauty  of  righteousness,  yet 
their  selfish  interests  in  the  processes  of  Hfe,  the  profit 
or  pleasure  which  they  derive  from  unrighteousness, 
sweep  away  their  feeble  admiration,  and  in  its  place 
come  anger  and  opposition.  All  potential  goodness  is 
a  disturbing  force.  Benevolent  men  are  the  friends 
of  even  the  selfish,  but  selfish  men  feel  that  benevo- 
lence is  the  enemy  of  selfishness.  The  silent  example 
of  a  good  man  judges  and  condemns  the  conduct  of 
bad  men.  Even  passive  goodness  stands  in  the  way 
of  active  selfishness.  But  when,  as  was  to  be  the  case 
in  the  new  spiritual  kingdom  heralded  by  Christ,  good 
men  acting  in  sympathy  should  seek  to  spread  the 
sway  of  moral  principles,  the  time  would  speedily 
arrive  when  their  spirit  would  come  in  conflict  with 
the  whole  kingdom  of  darkness.  Then  would  arise  the 
bitterest  opposition.  Since  the  world  began,  it  has  not 
been  permitted  to  any  one  to  rise  within  himself  from 
a  lower  to  a  higher  moral  state,  without  an  angry  con- 
flict on  the  part  of  his  inferior  faculties.  No  part  of 
human  society  has  been  allowed  to  develop  into  a 
higher  form  without  bitter  persecutions.  If  this  had 
been  so  up  to  that  era,  when  the  stages  were  tentative 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  327 

and  preparatory,  how  much  more  was  it  to  be  so  now, 
when  the  Mness  of  time  had  come,  and  the  followers 
of  Christ  were  to  found  a  kingdom  in  which  the  moral 
and  spiritual  elements  were  to  predominate  over  every 
other ! 

But  persecution  which  is  caused  by  true  goodness 
drives  men  more  entirely  from  the  resources  of  the 
animal  and  secular  hfe,  and  develops  in  them  to 
greater  strength  and  intensity  their  truly  spiritual  or 
divine  part ;  and  in  that  state  their  joys  increase  in 
elevation,  in  conscious  purity,  in  peacefulness.  They 
hve  in  another  realm.  They  are  not  dependent  for 
their  enjoyment  upon  outward  circumstances,  nor  upon 
the  remunerations  of  social  life.  They  are  lifted  into 
the  very  vicinage  of  heaven.  They  hold  communion 
with  God.  A  new  realm,  invisible  but  potential, 
springs  up  around  them.  Dispossessed  of  common 
pleasures,  they  find  themselves  filled  with  other  joys, 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  "Theirs  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven." 

Here  the  Beatitudes  end.  They  raise  in  the  mind 
an  exalted  conception  of  the  spiritual  manhood.  In 
the  new  kingdom  manhood  was  to  be  clothed  with 
new  power.  It  had  broken  up  through  to  the  realm 
above,  and  was  clothed  with  Divine  elements.  In  this 
state,  the  grand  instrument  of  success  in  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  world  was  to  be  the  simple  force  of  this 
new  human  nature,  acting  directly  upon  living  men. 
Until  that  time  religion  had,  in  the  weakness  of  the 
race,  needed  to  employ  rules,  laws,  and  institutions,  and 
to  maintain  its  authority  by  force  borrowed  from  the 
physical  nature  of  man.  But  the  new  kingdom  was 
to  rely  sovereignly  upon  a  new  force,  —  the  living  soul 


328  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

acting  upon  living  sonls.  Therefore  Jesus,  having 
revealed  by  these  few  profound  elements  what  was 
the  true  S23iritual  strength  of  man,  declares  to  his  dis- 
ciples their  mission.  They  were  to  be  the  preservative 
element  of  life.  They  were  to  become  sons  of  God, 
not  alone  for  their  own  sake,  but  as  spiritual  forces  in 
subduing  the  world  to  goodness.  While  Pharisees 
were  intensely  concerned  to  maintain  their  own  sup- 
posed blameless  state,  and  Essenes  were  withdrawing 
from  human  life  more  and  more,  and  various  religion- 
ists were  playing  hermit,  shunning  a  world  which 
they  could  not  resist  or  overcome,  the  disciples  of 
the  new  kingdom  of  the  spirit,  inspired  by  a  Divine 
influence,  and  living  in  an  atmosphere  uncontaminated 
by  the  lower  passions,  were  to  go  boldly  forth  into 
life,  taking  hold  of  human  affairs,  seeking  to  purify  the 
household,  to  reclaim  the  selfishness  and  the  sordidness 
of  material  life,  to  infuse  a  spirit  of  justice  and  of 
goodness  into  laws  and  magistrates,  and  to  make  the 
power  of  their  new  life  felt  in  every  fibre  of  human 
society.  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth !  "  "  Ye  are 
the  light  of  the  world ! " 

The  opening  portion  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
must  not  have  the  canons  of  modern  philosophy  ap- 
plied to  it.  Its  organic  relations  with  the  rest  of  the 
discourse  must  not  be  pressed  too  far.  It  depicts  the 
moral  qualities  which  are  to  give  character  to  the  new 
Hfe,  but  does  not  include  all  the  elements  of  it,  nor 
even  the  most  important  ones.  Hope,  faith,  and 
love  are  not  mentioned.  It  is  plain,  therefore,  that 
the  principle  of  selection  was  largely  an  external  one. 
Jesus  was  about  to  criticise  the  national  religion.     He 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  329 

fixed  his  eye  upon  tlie  living  officers  and  exemplars 
of  that  religion,  and  emphasized  with  his  benediction 
those  qualities  which  most  needed  to  be  made  promi- 
nent, and  which  were  signally  lacking  in  the  spirit  of 
the  Pharisee. 

Just  as  httle  should  we  attempt  to  exhibit  in  the 
Beatitudes  a  natural  progression,  or  philosophic  order 
of  qualities.     There  is  no  reason  why  the  second  Be- 
atitude should  not  stand  first,  nor  why  the  fifth,  sixth, 
and  seventh  might  not  be  interchanged.     The  fourth 
might   without   impropriety  have   begun   the   series. 
The  order  in  which  they  stand  does  not  represent 
the  order  of  the  actual  evolution  of  moral  qualities. 
On  the  contrary,  we  perceive  that  the  spirit  of  God 
develops  the  new  life  in  the  human  soul  in  no  fixed 
order.     Men  who  have  gone  far  in  overt  wickedness 
may  find  their  first  moral  impulse  to  spring  from  a 
condemning  conscience ;  but  others  are  more  affected 
by  the  sweetness  and  beauty  of  moral  qualities  as  seen 
in   some    goodly   life.      Sometimes   hope,   sometimes 
sympathy,  sometimes  fear,  and  sometimes  even  the 
imitativeness  that  becomes  contagious  in  social  life, 
is  the  initiatory  motive.     For  the  human  soul  is  like 
a   city  of  many  gates ;   and   a   conqueror   does   not 
always  enter  by  the  same  gate,  but  by  that  one  which 
chances  to  lie  open.     It  is  true  that  a  general  sense 
of  sinfulness  precedes  all  effort  after  a  higher  life. 
But  a  clear  discrimination  of  evil,  and  an  exquisite 
sensibility  to  it,  such  as  are  implied  in  the  first  two 
Beatitudes,  do  not  belong  to  an  untrained  conscience 
first  aroused  to  duty,  but  are  the  fruits  of  later  stages 
of  Christian  experience. 

The  Beatitudes  constitute  a  beautiful  sketch  of  the 


330  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

ideal  state,  when  the  glowing  passions,  which  in  the 
day  of  Christ  controlled  even  the  religious  leaders, 
and  still  so  largely  rule  the  world,  shall  be  supplanted 
by  the  highest  moral  sentiments.  The  ostentatious 
wealth  and  arrogant  pride  of  this  sensuous  life  shall 
be  replaced  in  the  new  life  by  a  profound  humihty. 
The  conceit  and  base  content  of  a  sordid  prosperity 
shall  give  way  to  ingenuous  spiritual  aspiration.  Men 
shall  long  for  goodness  more  than  the  hungry  do  for 
food.  They  shall  no  longer  live  by  the  force  of  their 
animal  life,  but  by  the  serene  sweetness  of  the  moral 
sentiments.  Meekness  shall  be  stronger  than  force. 
The  spirit  of  peacemaking  shall  take  the  place  of  irri- 
tation and  quarrelsomeness.  But  as  we  can  come  to 
the  mildness  and  serenity  of  spring  only  through  the 
blustering  winds  and  boisterous  days  of  March,  so  this 
new  kingdom  must  enter  through  a  period  of  resist- 
ance and  of  persecution ;  and  all  who,  taking  part  in 
its  early  establishment,  have  to  accept  persecution, 
must  learn  to  find  joy  in  it  as  the  witness  that  they 
are  exalted  to  a  superior  realm  of  experience,  to  the 
companionship  of  the  noblest  heroes  of  the  projohetic 
age,  and  to  fellowship  with  God. 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  331 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  —  (Continued.) 

After  pronouncing  the  Beatitudes,  and  before  en- 
tering upon  his  criticism  of  the  current  religious  ideas, 
Jesus  put  his  disciples  on  their  guard  lest  they  should 
suppose  that  he  meant  to  overturn  the  religion  of  their 
fathers.     Thmk  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  Laiv  or 
the  Prophets.     If  men's  moral  beliefs  were   the  result 
of  a  purely  logical  process,  their  religious  faith  might 
be  changed  upon  mere  argument,  and  with  as  little 
detriment  to  their  moral  constitution  as  an  astronomer 
experiences  when,  upon  the  recalculation  of  a  prob- 
lem, he  corrects  an  error.     But  men's  moral  convic- 
tions spring  largely  from  their  feehngs.     The  intellect 
but  gives  expression  to  the  heart.-   The    creed  and 
worship,  however  they  may  begin  in  philosophy,  are 
soon  covered  all   over  with   the    associations   of  the 
household ;    they  are  perfumed  with  domestic  love  ; 
they  convey  with  them  the  hopes  and  the  fears  of  life, 
the   childhood  fancies,  and  the  imaginations  of  man- 
hood.   To  change  a  man's  religious  system  is  to  recon- 
struct the  whole  man  himself.      Such  change  is  full  of 
peril.     Only  the  strongest  moral  natures  can  survive 
the  shock  of  doubt  which  dispossesses  them  of  all  that 
they    have    trusted  from    childhood.     There    are    few 
stron(»-  moral  natures.     The  mass  of  men  are  creatures 
of  dependent  habits  and  of  unreasoning  faith.     Once 


332  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

cut  loo'se  from  what  they  have  always  deemed  sacred, 
they  find  it  impossible  to  renew  their  reverence  for 
new  things,  and  sink  either  into  moral  indifference  or 
into  careless  scepticism.  Men  must,  if  possible,  see 
in  the  new  a  preservation  of  all  that  was  valuable  in 
the  old,  made  still  more  fruitful  and  beautiful.  It  is 
the  old  in  the  new  that  preserves  it  from  doing  harm 
to  untaught  natures. 

The  recognition  of  this  truth  is  nowhere  more  re- 
markable than  in  the  progress  of  Christianity  under  the 
ministration  of  Jesus  and  of  his  Apostles.  Although 
surrounded  by  a  people  whose  hatred  of  foreign  re- 
ligions was  inordinate  and  fanatical,  the  Jews  did  not 
hear  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  even  an  allusion  to  hear 
thenism.  If  the  narratives  of  the  Gospel  are  fair  speci- 
mens of  his  manner,  there  was  not  a  word  that  fell 
from  him  which  could  have  wounded  an  honest  hea- 
then ;-^  and,  afterwards,  his  A^DOstles  sought  to  find  some 
ground  of  common  moral  consciousness  from  which  to 
reason  with  the  idolatrous  peoj)le  among  whom  they 
came.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  Jesus  made  an  ab- 
rupt transition  from  the  religious  institutions  of  Moses 
to  his  own  spiritual  system.  He  said  no  word  to 
unsettle  the  minds  of  his  countrymen  in  the  faith  of 
their  fathers.  He  was  careful  of  the  religious  preju- 
dices of  his  times.  The  very  blows  directed  against 
the  glosses  and  perversions  of  the  Pharisees  derived 
their  force  from  the  love  which  Jesus  showed  for  the 
Law  and  the  Prophets.  He  pierced  through  the  outr 
ward  forms  to  the  central  principle  of  Mosaism,  and 
made  his  new  dispensation  to  be  an  evolution  of  the  old. 

^  Tlie  word  "  heathen,"  Matt.  vi.   7,  and  xviii.  1 7,  is  used  rather  as  a 
designation  than  as  a  criticism. 


THE  SERMON  ON  TEE  MOUNT.  333 

T/iink  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  Laiv  or  the 
Prophets :  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  hid  to  fulfil. 

Here  is  the  law  of  development  announced  by  an 
inspired  Hebrew  to  a  peasant  and  mechanic  crowd  in 
obscure  Galilee,  ages  before  the  philosophy  of  evolu- 
tion was  suspected  or  the  laws  of  progress  were  found 
out.     Jesus  did  not  come  to  destroy  old  faiths,  but  to 
carry  them  forward  by  growth  to  the  higher  forms 
and  the  better  fruit  that  were  contained  within  them. 
This  tenderness  for  all  the  good  that  there  was  in 
the  past  of  the  Jewish  nation  is  in  striking  contrast 
with  the  bitter  spirit  of  hatred  against  the  Jews  which 
afterwards  grew  up  in  the  Christian  Church.     No  man 
can  be  in  sympathy  with  Jesus  who  has  no  affection 
for  the  Jew  and  no  reverence  for  the  oracles  of  the 
old  Hebrew  dispensation. 

It  was  peculiarly  appropriate,  at  the  beginning  of 
a  discourse  designed  to  search  the  received  interpre- 
tations of  the  Law  with  the  most  severe  criticism,  that 
Jesus  should  caution  his  disciples  against  a  tendency, 
often  developed  in  times  of  transition,  to  give  up  and 
abandon  all  the  convictions  and  traditions  of  the  past. 
Jesus  therefore  amplified  the  thought.     The  central 
truths  of  Hebraism  were   fundamental   and   organic. 
The   ceremonies    and   institutions   which    surrounded 
them  might  change,  but  the  enshrined  principles  were 
permanent.     Heaven  and  earth  should  pass  away  be- 
fore one  jot  or  tittle  of  them  should  perish.     No  man 
must  seek  notoriety  by  a  crusade  against  his  father's 
religion.     He  who  should  break  one  of  the  least  com- 
mandments, or  should  inspire  others  to  do  so,  should 
be  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     The  temper  of 
the  new  life  was  not  to  be  destructive,  but  construe- 


334  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

tive.  Even  that  part  of  the  old  religion  which  was 
to  pass  away  must  not  be  destroyed  by  attack,  but 
be  left  to  dry  up  and  fall  by  the  natural  develop- 
ment of  the  higher  elements  of  spiritual  life  contained 
within  it.  And  that  should  not  be  till  the  old  was 
"  fulfilled "  in  the  new :  the  blossom  should  be  dis- 
placed only  by  the  fruit. 

Jesus  was  now  prepared  to  pass  under  review  the 
ethical  mistakes  which  his  countrymen  had  made  in 
interpreting  the  Law  of  Moses.  He  began  by  declar- 
ing that  the  reigning  religious  spirit  was  totally  insuf- 
ficient. No  one  under  its  insj)iration  could  rise  into 
that  higher  life  which  was  opening  upon  the  world. 

^zcept  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  righteousness 
of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enier  into  the 
Jcingdom  of  heaven. 

This  may  be  called  the  theme  of  the  whole  sermon 
following.  From  this  text  Jesus  now  developed  his 
view  of  the  ethics  of  the  neiu  life.  He  furnished  the 
ideals  towards  which  men  must  strive,  setting  forth 
the  morality  of  the  teleologic  state  of  mankind.  For 
this  purpose  he  selected  a  series  of  cases  in  which 
the  great  laws  of  purity  and  of  love  were  the  most 
violated  in  the  practical  life  of  his  times,  and  ap- 
plied to  them  the  ethics  of  the  final  and  perfect 
state  of  manhood.  This  he  did,  not  as  a  legislator, 
nor  as  a  priest.  He  was  not  attempting  to  regulate 
civil  society,  nor  the  church,  by  minute  regulations, 
but  by  inspiring  the  soul  with  those  nobler  emotions 
from  which  just  rules  spring,  and  which  themselves 
need  no  laws.  He  spoke  from  conscious  divinity  in 
himself  to  the  moral  consciousness  in  man.  He  was 
not  framing  principles  into  human  laws  or  institutions. 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  335 

He  held  up  ideals  of  disposition  for  the  attainment 
of  which  all  men  were  to  strive.  They  are  not  the 
less  true  because  men  in  the  lower  stages  of  devel- 
opment are  unable  to  attain  to  their  level.  They  are 
the  true  basis  of  all  social  and  civil  procedure,  even 
though  nations  are  not  yet  civilized  enough  to  prac- 
tise them. 

There  are  nine  topics  successively  treated,  all  of 
them  relating  to  the  state  of  man's  heart,  namely : 
1.  Murder ;  2.  Adultery ;  3.  Divorce  ;  4.  Oaths ;  6.  Re- 
taliation ;  6.  Disinterested  Benevolence ;  7.  Almsgiv- 
ing; 8.  Prayer;  9.  Fasting.  Following  the  enuncia- 
tion of  principles  in  regard  to  these  tojDics  are  a  series 
of  cases  relating  to  the  outward  life,  or  economico- 
ethical  instructions.  The  spiritual  ethics  which  Jesus 
laid  down  with  the  quiet  authority  of  conscious  divin- 
ity not  only  antagonized  with  the  private  passions  of 
men  and  the  customs  of  society,  but  directly  contested 
the  popular  interpretation  of  the  Law  of  Moses. 

1.  Murder.  —  Christ  teaches  that  the  true  life  is  that 
of  the  thoughts  and  emotions ;  that  the  highest  au- 
thority and  government  is  that  which  is  within  the 
soul,  and  not  alone  that  which  breaks  out  into  ac- 
tive civil  law  and  takes  cognizance  of  acts.  Spiritual 
law  takes  hold  of  the  sources  of  all  acts.  Now  the 
Pharisee  sought  to  restrain  evil  by  a  microscopic  con- 
sideration of  externals.  Jesus  went  back  to  the  foun- 
tain, and  would  purify  all  the  issues  by  cleansing  it. 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  ly  them  of  old  time,  Thou 
shalt  not  Jdll ;  and  ivhosoever  shall  Idll  shall  he  in  danger  of 
the  judgment :  hut  I  sag  unto  gou,  That  tuhosoevcr  is  angry 
with  his  hrother  luithoiit  a  cause  shall  he  in  danger  of  the 
judgment :  and  whosoever  ishail  mg  to  hts  hroiher,  Haca,  shall 


336  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

he  in  danger  of  the  council:  hut  whosoever  shall  say,  Thou 
fool,  shall  he  in  danger  of  hell  fire. 

What  is  murder  ?  The  law  of  the  land  answered  in 
its  way.  Jesus  rejDlied,  The  voluntary  indulgence  of 
any  feeling  that  would  naturally  lead  to  the  act,  —  that 
is  murder.  The  crime  is  first  committed  in  the  shad- 
owy realm  of  thought  and  feeling.  Many  a  murder 
is  unperformed  outwardly,  while  all  that  constitutes 
its  guilt  is  enacted  in  the  heart.  A  legahst  would 
regard  himself  as  innocent  if  only  he  did  not  act  as 
he  felt.  But  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Spirit  feelings 
are  acts.  A  murderous  temper  is  murder.  John  says, 
"  Whosoever  hateth  his  brother  is  a  murderer." 

This  does  not  forbid  all  anger.  There  may  be  a 
just  indignation  which  carries  in  it  no  malice,  which 
springs  from  affronted  benevolence.  This  is  implied  in 
the  phrase,  "  Whoso  is  angry  with  his  brother  ivithout 
a  cause,"  i.  e.  a  just  cause,  a  cause  springing  from  high 
moral  considerations,  as  where  indignation  is  aroused 
at  the  sight  of  one  who  is  committing  a  great  cruelty. 

Not  alone  anger  which  leads  to  violence,  but  even 
that  degree  of  anger  which  leads  one  to  abuse  another 
by  the  use  of  opprobrious  epithets,  is  forbidden.  Yet 
more  severely  condemned  is  such  a  transport  of  anger 
93  leads  one,  imder  the  influence  of  merciless  pas- 
sions, as  it  were,  to  tread  out  all  sense  of  another's 
manhood  and  to  annihilate  him. 

Not  only  are  we  to  carry  kind  thoughts  ourselves, 
but  we  are  bound,  by  every  means  within  our  power, 
to  prevent  unkind  thoughts  in  others.  If  we  know 
that  another  "  hath  aught  against  us,"  the  removal  of 
that  unkind  feeling  is  more  important  before  God  than 
any  act  of  worship.     Leave  the  altar,  remove  the  un- 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  337 

kindness,  then  return  to  tliy  prayers.  First  humanity, 
then  devotion. 

2.  Adulterfj.  —  The  same  general  principle  is  applied 
to  the  passion  of  lust. 

But  I  say  unto  you,  That  wJiosoever  looJcdh  on  a  woman 
to  lust  after  her  hath  committed  adultery  ivith  her  already  in 
his  heart. 

Not  only  is  he  guilty  who  suffers  desire  to  run  its 
full  length  and  consummate  itself  in  action,  but  he 
also  who  nourishes  the  desire  which  he  cannot  or  dare 
not  consummate.  And  though  the  temptation  require 
the  uttermost  strength  of  resistance,  it  must  be  van- 
quished. As  a  soldier  fights  though  wounded,  and  is 
triumphantly  received  though  his  victory  has  lost  him 
an  arm  or  an  eye,  so  at  every  sacrifice  and  with  all 
perseverance  must  the  true  man  maintain  chastity  in 
his  feelings,  in  his  thoughts,  and  in  his  imagination. 
If  thy  right  eye  of  end  thee,  pluck  it  out.  If  thy  right  hand 
of  end  thee,  cut  it  of. 

8.  Divorce.  —  In  the  kingdom  of  the  Spirit  the  new 
man  shall  no  longer  be  suffered  to  consult  his  own 
mere  pleasure  in  the  disposal  of  his  wife.  In  the 
Orient  and  among  the  Jews  polygamy  was  permitted ; 
the  husband  might  take  as  many  wives  as  he  could 
support,  and  he  was  at  liberty  to  dismiss  any  one  of 
them  upon  the  most  trivial  cause.  Woman  was  help- 
less, a  slave  of  man's  convenience,  without  redress 
when  wronged.  She  could  demand  a  legal  document 
of  her  husband  if  he  put  her  away,  and  that  probably 
was  equivalent  to  a  general  certificate  of  respectable 
character,  such  as  employers  give  to  servants  when 
for  any  reason  they  wish  no  longer  to  retain  them. 

Under  Oriental  laws,  to  this  day,  women  are  little 

22 


338  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

better  than  slaves.  The  husband  has  despotic  power 
over  them.  Among  the  Hebrews,  the  condition  of 
woman  was  far  better,  and  her  privileges  were  greater, 
than  in  other  Eastern  nations ;  yet  the  husband  could 
dispossess  her  of  her  marriage  rights  almost  at  his  own 
will.  He  had  uncontrolled  jurisdiction.  There  was 
no  necessity  for  obtaining  permission  from  a  civil  or 
religious  tribunal  to  put  away  his  wife.  It  was  a 
household  affair,  with  which  the  public  had  nothing  to 
do.  Her  stay  in  the  house  was  purely  a  matter  of  her 
lord's  will.  He  could  send  her  forth  for  the  most 
trivial  fault,  or  from  the  merest  caprice.  The  doctrine 
of  Jesus  sheared  off  at  one  stroke  all  these  unnatural 
privileges  from  the  husband,  and  made  the  wife's 
position  firm  and  permanent,  unless  she  forfeited  it 
by  crime.  By  limiting  the  grounds  of  separation 
to  the  single  crime  of  adultery,  Jesus  revolutionized 
the  Oriental  household,  and  lifted  w^oman  far  up  on 
the  scale  of  natural  rights.  Considered  in  its  histor- 
ical relations,  this  action  of  our  Lord  was  j)rimarily  a 
restriction  upon  the  stronger  and  directly  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  weaker  party. 

This  theme  and  our  Lord's  teaching  upon  it  will  be 
resumed  where  we  come  to  treat  of  a  later  period  in 
his  ministry,  when  he  more  fully  disclosed  his  doctrine 
upon  the  subject.  But  it  is  clear  that  our  Lord  be- 
lono-ed  to  neither  of  the  two  schools  which  existed 
among  the  Jews,  —  the  lax  school  of  Hillel,  or  the 
rigid  school  of  Shammai.  He  rose  higher  than  either. 
He  made  the  outward  relation  permanent,  on  account 
of  the  true  spiritual  nature  of  marriage,  it  being  the 
fusion  or  real  unity  of  two  hearts.  Having  once 
been  outwardly  united,  they  must  abide  together,  and 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  339 

even  when  they  found  themselves  in  conflict  must 
learn  to  be  one  in  spirit  by  the  discipline  of  living 
together.  If  they  enter  the  wedded  state  unprepared, 
the  household  is  the  school  in  which  they  are  to  learn 
the  neglected  lesson. 

4.  Oaths.  —  If  men  loved  the  truth  always,  there 
would  be  no  need  of  an  oath ;  but  so  prone  are 
they  to  deceit,  that  in  cases  of  public  interest  they 
must  be  incited  to  speak  truly  by  a  lively  fear  acting 
upon  an  aroused  conscience.  By  an  oath  men  swear 
to  God,  and  not  to  man,  of  the  truth  of  facts.  A  day 
shall  come  when  men  will  speak  the  truth  in  the  love 
of  truth.  Then  all  judicial  oaths  will  be  needless. 
The  perfect  state  will  have  no  need  of  them,  and  they 
will  be  done  away. 

The  casuists  among  the  Jews  had  corrupted  the 
oath.  Men  were  not  bound  by  it,  unless  it  was  an  oath 
directly  to  God.  They  might  win  confidence  by  giving 
to  their  solemn  affirmations  the  appearance  of  an 
oath.  They  might  swear  by  heaven,  by  the  earth,  by 
Jerusalem,  by  one's  head ;  but  it  was  held  that  from 
these  oaths  they  might  draw  back  without  dishonor. 
Jesus  exposed  the  deception  and  impiety  of  such  oaths. 
He  laid  down  for  all  time  the  canon,  that  the  true 
man  shall  declare  facts  with  the  utmost  simplicity.  It 
must  be  yea,  yea,  or  nay,  nay ;  nothing  more.  This 
certainly  forbids  the  use  of  all  trivial  oaths,  and  re- 
duces judicial  oaths  to  the  position  of  expedients, 
tolerated  only  on  account  of  the  weakness  of  men,  and 
to  be  abolished  in  the  era  of  true  manhood.  Oaths 
will  be  dispensed  with  just  as  soon  as  men  can  be 
believed  without  an  oath. 

5.  Retaliation.  —  Jesus  passed  next  to  a  consideration 


340  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

of  the  law  of  retaliation.  The  lower  down  u^^on  the 
moral  scale  men  live,  the  more  nearly  must  they  be 
governed  wholly  by  fear  and  force.  Under  the  laws 
of  nature,  disobedience  brings  pain.  Men  learn  the 
same  government,  and  inflict  pain  upon  those  who 
offend.  Civil  government  methodizes  this  economy  of 
pain.  It  is,  however,  the  method  peculiar  to  unde- 
veloped manhood.  Force  is  the  lowest,  j)^iii  is  the 
next,  and  fear  the  nextj  but  all  of  them  are  methods 
of  dealmg  with  creatures  not  yet  brought  up  to  their 
true  selves.  They  are  therefore  expedients  of  educa- 
tion, and,  like  all  instruments  of  training,  they  cease 
as  soon  as  they  have  carried  their  subjects  to  a  higher 
plane.  In  the  coming  kingdom  of  love,  the  full  man 
in  Christ  Jesus  will  no  longer  repay  evil  with  evil, 
pain  with  pain.  Evil-doing  will  be  corrected  by  the 
spirit  of  goodness,  and  love  will  take  the  place  of  force 
and  pain  and  fear. 

Even  if  it  be  yet  impossible  to  develop  among  men 
this  future  and  ideal  government,  it  can  be  held  up  as 
the  aim  toward  which  progress  should  be  directed. 
This  Jesus  did.  I  sai/  unto  you,  That  ye  resist  not  evil ; 
hut  tvhosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  thy  right  cheek,  turn  to  him 
the  other  also.  Nay,  more ;  he  who  acts  in  the  full 
spirit  of  love,  so  far  from  revenging  an  injustice,  will 
yield  more  than  is  demanded.  It  was  a  time  of  in- 
justice and  of  tyrannical  exactions ;  but  the  command 
of  Jesus  was.  If  the  law,  wickedly  administered,  should 
take  your  property,  rather  than  quarrel  give  more 
than  is  asked ;  if  impressed  in  your  property  and  per- 
son into  the  public  service,  exceed  the  task  laid  upon 
you ;  if  solicited,  lend  and  give  freely.  As  society  is 
constituted,  and  in  the  low  and  animal  condition  of 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.    .  341 

mankind,  it  may  be  that  these  commands  could  not 
be  fulfilled  literally ;  but  they  furnish  an  ideal  toward 
which  every  one  must  strive. 

'  6.  Disinterested  Benevolence.  —  Having  developed  the 
genius  of  the  new  kingdom  of  love  negatively,  it  was 
natural  that  Jesus  should  next  disclose  the  positive 
forms  of  love  and  its  duties.  He  laid  down  the  funda- 
mental principle  that  love  must  spring  forth,  not  from 
the  admirableness  of  any  object  of  regard,  but  from 
the  richness  of  one's  own  nature  in  true  benevolence. 
Like  the  sun,  love  sends  forth  from  itself  that  color 
which  makes  beautiful  whatever  it  shines  upon ;  there- 
fore love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do 
good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  that 
despitefully  use  you.  The  new  men  of  the  future 
must  not  derive  their  notions  of  perfection  from  be- 
neath them,  —  in  that  direction  lies  the  animal,  —  but 
from  above.  Seek  for  that  kind  of  perfection  which 
God  desires,  —  the  perfection  of  a  disinterested  love. 
The  sun  and  the  seasons  interpret  that.  They  pour 
life  and  bounty  over  the  whole  race,  whether  deserv- 
ing or  not.  In  spite  of  the  pains  and  penalties  of 
which  nature  is  full,  over  all  the  earth  are  the  sym- 
bols that  God's  greater  government  is  one  of  good- 
ness. He  must  be  a  bad  man  who  does  not  love  that 
which  is  lovely.  Even  selfishness  can  honor  and  serve 
that  which  will  redound  to  its  benefit.  The  worst 
men  in  society  will  please  those  who  will  return  like 
service. 

This,  too,  like  the  teaching  upon  the  other  topics,  is 
to  be  accepted  as  the  ideal  of  the  new  kingdom.  It 
can  be  but  imperfectly  carried  out  as  yet.  But  it 
is   that   spirit  which    every  man   is   to   recognize    as 


3-42  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

the  standard,  and  to  carry  out  "as  much  as  in  him 
lies." 

7.  Almsgiving.  —  Jesus  now  cautions  his  disciples 
agamst  doing  right  things  from  wrong  motives.  They 
must  give  ahns,  not  for  the  sake  of  reputation,  not  for 
their  own  interests,  but  out  of  a  simple  benevolence. 
The  love  of  praise  may  go  with  benevolence,  but  must 
not  take  the  place  of  it.  It  is  hypocrisy  to  act  from 
selfish  motives,  while  obtaining  credit  for  disinterested 
ones.  This  passing  off  of  our  baser  feelings  for  our 
noblest  is  a  species  of  moral  counterfeiting  as  preva- 
lent now  as  in  the  times  of  our  Lord. 

8.  Prayer.  —  Men  should  pray  from  a  sincere  feeling 
of  devotion,  and  not  from  vanity  or  mere  custom.  And, 
as  both  Jewish  and  heathen  prayers  had  become  filled 
with  superstitious  and  cumbersome  repetitions,  Jesus 
enjoins  simplicity  and  privacy,  rather  as  the  cure  of 
ostentation  than  as  absolute  excellences.  God  does 
not  need  instruction  in  our  wants.  He  knows  better 
than  we  what  we  need.  Neither  does  he  need  per- 
suasion. He  is  more  ready  to  give  good  gifts  than 
parents  are  to  bestow  good  things  on  their  children. 

It  is  probable  that  the  sermon  of  Christ  on  the 
mount  was  delivered  in  the  most  fiimiliar  and  inter- 
locutory manner.  It  seems  to  have  been  reported  in 
outline,  rather  than  in  full,  and  between  one  portion 
and  another  there  would  doubtless  be  questions  asked 
and  answered.  In  this  way  we  can  interpret  the  succes- 
sion of  topics  which  have  no  internal  relation  to  each 
other,  but  which  might  be  drawn  out  of  the  speaker 
by  some  interposed  question  or  explanation.  Luke 
gives  us  a  clew  to  one  such  scene. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  as  he  was  praying  in  a 


THE  SERMON  ON  TEE  MOUNT.  343 

certain  place,  when  he  ceased,  one  of  his  disciples  said 
unto  hiin,  Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,  as  John  also  taught 
his  disciples."     (xi.  1.) 

Many  of  John's  disciples,  after  the  imprisonment  of 
their  master,  attached  themselves  to  Jesus.  The  tran- 
sition was  natural  and  easy.  Jesus  must  have  seemed 
to  them  like  a  second  John,  greater  in  miracles,  but 
far  less  in  sanctity.  John  was  wholly  a  reformer. 
He  did  not  take  upon  him  the  duties  and  burdens  of 
common  citizenship,  but  stood  apart  as  a  judge  and 
censor  of  morals.  He  had  that  severe  mood  of  sanc- 
tity which  always  impresses  the  imagination  of  the 
ignorant  and  the  superstitious.  Jesus  was  a  citizen. 
He  knew  the  fatigues  of  labor,  the  trials  which  beset 
poverty,  the  temptations  arising  from  the  practical 
conduct  of  business.  He  lived  amono-  men  in  all  the 
innocent  experiences  of  society  life,  a  cheerful,  com- 
panionable, and  most  winning  nature.  There  was  no 
gayety  in  his  demeanor,  but  much  cheerfulness.  He 
did  not  assume  the  professional  sanctity  that  was 
much  in  esteem.  He  was  familiar,  natural,  unpreten- 
tious, loving  that  which  was  homely  and  natural  in 
men,  rather  than  that  which  was  artificial  and  preten- 
tious. 

But  John's  disciples  must  have  felt  the  difference 
in  the  teaching  of  the  two  masters.  Especially  must 
they  have  observed  the  devotional  spirit  of  Jesus. 
And  on  the  occasion  mentioned,  when  he  had  spent  in 
prayer  the  night  preceding  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
some  of  them  asked  Jesus  to  teach  them  how  to  pray, 
"  as  John  also  taught  his  disciples." 

Prayer  was  no  new  thing  to  the  Jews.  Synagogues 
abounded,   and  their    liturgical   service   was   rich   in 


344  TEE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

prayers,  which  in  general  were  scriptural  and  emi- 
nently devotional.  But  their  very  number  was  bur- 
densome, and  their  repetition  confusing.  Liturgies 
furnish  prayers  for  men  in  groups  and  societies.  This 
meets  but  one  side  of  human  want.  Man  needs  to 
draw  himself  out  from  among  his  fellows,  and  to  pray 
alone  and  individually.  New  wine  disdains  old  bot- 
tles. Intense  feeling  will  not  accept  old  formulas,  but 
bursts  out  into  prayer  of  its  own  shaping.  Yet  it 
was  hardly  this  last  want  that  led  the  disciples  to  ask 
Jesus  to  teach  them  how  to  pray.  It  was  more  prob- 
ably a  request  that  he  would,  out  of  the  multitude  of 
prayers  already  prepared,  either  select  for  them  or 
frame  some  prayer  that  should  be  in  s_)Tnpathy  with 
the  spiritual  instruction  which  he  was  giving  them. 
Now,  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  as  given  by  Mat- 
thew, Jesus  had  just  been  reprehending  the  practice  of 
repetition  in  prayer,  so  striking  in  the  devotions  of 
the  heathen,  wdio  frequently  for  a  half-hour  together 
vociferate  a  single  sentence,  or  word  even.  The  dis- 
ciples of  John  very  naturally  asked  him  to  give  them 
such  a  prayer  as  he  would  aj^prove.  Jesus  gave  them 
what  has  become  known  as  "  the  Lord's  Prayer."  It 
may  be  used  liturgically,  or  it  may  serve  as  a  model 
for  private  prayer,  as  shaU  seem  most  profitable. 

One  knows  not  which  most  to  admire  in  this  form, 
—  its  loftiness  of  spirit,  its  comprehensiveness,  its 
brevity,  its  simplicity,  or  its  union  of  human  and  divine 
elements.  Our  admiration  of  it  is  not  disturbed  by 
that  criticism  which  questions  its  originality  and  finds 
it  to  be  made  up,  in  part,  of  prayers  already  existing. 
Is  the  diamond  less  princely  among  stones  because  its 
constituent   elements  can  be   shown   in  other  combi- 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  345 

nations  ?  The  brilliant  contrast  between  the  inor- 
ganic elements  and  their  crystalline  form  is  a  sufficient 
answer.  All  prayer  may  be  said  to  have  crystallized 
in  this  prayer.  The  Church  has  worn  it  for  hundreds 
of  years  upon  her  bosom,  as  the  brightest  gem  of 
devotion. 

The  opening  phrase,  Our  Father,  is  the  key  to 
Christianity.  God  is  father;  government  is  personal. 
All  the  tenderness  which  now  is  stored  up  in  the 
word  "  mother "  was  of  old  included  in  the  name 
"father."  The  household  was  governed  by  law,  and 
yet  it  was  small  enough  to  enable  the  father  to  make 
himself  the  exponent  of  love  and  law. 

In  the  household,  strength  and  weakness  are 
bound  together  by  the  mysterious  tie  of  love.  The 
superior  serves  the  inferior,  and  yet  subordination  is 
not  lost.  Children  learn  obedience  through  their  affec- 
tions, and  fear  supplements  higher  motives.  In  this 
the  family  differs  from  all  civil  institutions.  The  father 
is  in  contact  with  his  children,  and  governs  them  by 
personal  influence.  The  magistrate  cannot  know  or 
be  known  to  the  bulk  of  his  subjects.  Love  in  the 
household  is  a  living  influence,  in  the  state  it  is  an 
abstraction.  In  a  family  where  love  and  law  are 
commensurate,  the  father's  will  is  the  most  perfect 
government. 

Civil  government  is  an  extension  of  the  family  only 
in  name.  Kings  are  not  fathers,  and  national  gov- 
ernments cannot  be  paternal  because  they  cannot  be 
personal.  It  is  a  question  of  the  utmost  importance, 
then,  whether  we  shall  form  our  idea  of  the  Divine 
moral  government  from  the  famdy  or  from  the  state ; 
whether  we   shall  conceive   of  God  as  Father  or  as 


346  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

King,  and  his  government  as  one  of  abstract  laws  or 
of  personal  influences.  "  Oue  Father  "  is  itself  a 
whole  theology.  We  are  prone  to  transfer  to  the 
moral  administration  of  God  those  peculiarities  of 
civil  government  which  really  spring  from  men's  lim- 
itation and  weakness,  and  are  therefore  the  worst  pos- 
sible analogies  or  symbols  of  Divine  things.  The  im- 
personality of  magistrates  and  the  abstractions  of  law 
are  necessary  in  human  government,  because  men  are 
too  weak  to  reach  a  higher  model.  The  Divine  gov- 
ernment, administered  by  means  of  universal  laws, 
still  leaves  the  Supreme  Father  free  to  exercise  his 
personal  feelings.  If  God  be  only  a  magistrate,  the 
charm  is  gone.  He  governs  no  longer  by  the  influ- 
ence of  his  heart,  but  by  a  law,  which,  as  projected 
from  himself,  is  conceived  of  by  men  as  a  thing  sepa- 
rate from  Divine  will,  though  at  first  springing  from  it. 
At  once  justice  becomes  something  inflexible,  severe, 
relentless.  A  king  is  weak  in  moral  power  in  pro- 
portion as  he  relies  upon  the  law  of  force.  His  hand 
for  matter,  his  heart  for  men. 

A  father  on  earth,  though  dear  and  venerated,  is 
yet  human  and  imperfect;  but  a  "Father  in  heaven" 
exalts  the  imagination.  The  Celestial  Father  dis- 
charges all  those  duties  and  offices  of  love  and  au- 
thority which  the  earthly  parent  but  hints  at  and 
imperfectly  fulfils.  It  is  the  ideal  of  perfection  in 
fatherhood.  It  enhances  our  conception  of  the  ideal 
home,  in  "  the  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in 
the  heavens."  As  children  in  an  earthly  family  come 
to  a  parent,  so  with  all  the  privileges  of  children  our 
spirits  ascend  to  the  spiritual  Father  in  heaven. 

With  a  child's  love  and  admiration  mingles  not  only 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  347 

a  sense  of  tlie  superiority  of  its  parent,  but  an  affec- 
tionate desire  for  his  honor  and  dignity.  Halloived  he 
ihy  name  is  the  expression  of  the  desire  that  God  may 
be  held  in  universal  reverence.  Experiencing  the 
blessedness  of  veneration,  the  soul  would  clothe  the 
object  of  its  adoration  with  the  love  and  admiration 
which  it  deserves.  It  is  not  a  supplication  for  one's 
self,  but  an  affectionate  and  holy  desire  for  the  wel- 
fare of  another.  There  is  in  it  no  servile  adulation, 
no  abject  awe.  It  springs  from  the  highest  spiritual 
affection,  and  is  rational  and  ennobling. 

In  the  next  jDctitipn  the  soul  yearns  for  that  per- 
fect state  toward  which  men  have  always  been  look- 
ing forward.  However  imperfect  the  conceptions  may 
be,  men  have  always  conceived  of  the  joresent  as  a  sin- 
gle step  in  one  long  advance  toward  an  ideally  perfect 
state.  Somewhere  in  the  future  the  spirit  of  man  is  to 
be  elevated,  purified,  perfected.  The  discords  and  mis- 
rule and  wretchedness  of  the  present  are  not  to  con- 
tinue. From  afar  off,  advancing  surely  though  slowly 
through  the  ages,  comes  that  kingdom  "in  which 
dwelleth  righteousness."  Every  good  man  longs  for  it, 
and  his  thoughts  frequently  take  shelter  in  it.  Thy 
Jcingdom  come  is  the  petition  of  every  one  who  loves 
God  and  his  fellow-man. 

The  next  is  like  unto  it :  Thy  ivill  he  done  in  earth, 
as  it  is  in  heaven. 

All  natural  laws  are  the  emanations  of  the  Divine 
will.  Those  fundamental  principles  of  right,  upon 
which  all  human  laws  are  founded,  are  derived  from 
the  Divine  will.  That  will  represents  order,  progress, 
and  government.  God's  will  is  universal  harmony. 
On  earth,  men  are  largely  ignorant  of  this  regulative 


348  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

will,  and  are  irregular  in  their  obedience  to  that  which 
is  known,  or  are  wholly  disobedient  and  rebellious. 
But  in  heaven  perfect  obedience  follows  knowledge. 
The  will  of  God  is  unobstructed.  Men  are  here  in  the 
uproar  of  an  untuned  orchestra,  each  instrument  at 
discord  with  its  fellows;  but  in  heaven  the  chorus 
will  flow  forever  in  harmonious  sweetness.  In  desir- 
ing our  own  spiritual  good,  we  must  come  into  sym- 
pathy with  the  work  of  God  in  the  whole  race,  and 
seek  ardently  the  consummation  of  the  Divine  will 
in  all  the  earth  and  through  all  time. 

Thus  far,  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  men  are  taught  to 
express  love,  reverence,  and  the  aspiration  of  earnest 
benevolence.  They  are  to  put  forth  their  first  desires, 
and  their  strongest,  in  behalf  of  the  Divine  glory  and 
of  the  welfare  of  the  whole  kingdom.  Then,  as  single 
individuals  in  that  kingdom,  they  may  make  supplica- 
tion for  their  own  personal  wants.  Give  its  this  day 
our  daily  hrcad. 

'  Bread  may  be  regarded  as  the  symbol  of  all  that 
support  which  the  body  needs.  To  pray  for  daily 
bread  is  to  pray  for  all  necessary  support.  It  is  to  in- 
voke the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  and  in  its 
spirit  it  includes  whatever  is  needed  for  the  comfort  of 
our  physical  life.  Thus,  however  favored  of  wealth 
and  its  fruits,  all  men  have  conscious  needs  which  are 
touched  by  the  spirit  of  this  cry  for  bread.  But  they 
to  whom  it  was  first  spoken  knew  the  pangs  of  hun- 
ger. Their  daily  bread  was  by  no  means  sure.  It 
was  the  one  want  that  never  left  them.  Nor  is  it  to 
be  forgotten  that  the  great  mass  of  men  "on  the  globe 
to-day  are  living  in  such  abject  condition  as  to  make 
the  question  of  food  a  matter  of  anxiety  for  every 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  349 

single  day.  The  prayer  for  bread  unites  more  voices 
on  earth  than  any  other. 

The  next  petition  is  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins ;  and 
it  is  couj)led  with  a  reminder  of  "man's  duty  of  for- 
giveness toward  his  fellow-men.  Forgive  its  our  debts, 
as  tve  fargive  our  dehtors.  No  other  offence  seems  to 
have  been  regarded  as  so  fatal  to  true  manhood  as  a 
cruel  and  harm-bearing  disposition.  Even  indifference 
to  another's  welfare  aroused  the  Master's  rebuke ;  but 
a  wilful  animosity,  or  an  infliction  of  unnecessary  pain, 
was  regarded  with  the  severest  condemnation.^  No 
other  sin  is  more  common  or  more  culjDable.  The  only 
comment  of  our  Lord  upon  this  prayer  touches  tliis 
malign  trait  in  a  manner  of  peculiar  solemnity.  For 
if  ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  Heavenly  Father 
tvill  also  forgive  you :  hut  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  tres- 
passes, neither  will  your  Father  forgive  your  trespasses. 

The  next  petition.  Lead  us  not  into  temptation,  is  not 
inconsistent  with  the  expression  of  joy  when  men  fall 
into  divers  temptations.^  Men  often  rejoice  in  a  con- 
flict, after  it  is  past,  which  they  dreaded  in  anticipa- 
tion. Looking  forth  into  the  future,  a  soul  conscious 
of  its  weakness  dreads  being  put  under  severe  temp- 
tation. Those  who  have  seen  the  most  of  active  life 
will  most  deeply  feel  the  need  of  this  petition.  No 
one  can  tell  beforehand  how  he  will  be  affected  by 
persistent,  insidious,  and  vehement  temptations.  If  it 
is  a  duty  to  avoid  evil,  it  is  surely  permissible  to 
solicit  Divine  help  thereto. 

But  when  under  Divine  Providence  it  is  necessary 
that  men  should  pass  through  a  conflict  with  evil,  that 

*  See  Matt.  vi.  14,  15  ;  Luke  vi.  37  ;  Matt,  xviii.  35. 

*  James  i.  2. 


350  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

very  consciousness  of  their  own  weakness  which  led 
them  to  pray  that  they  might  not  be  tempted  now 
causes  them  to  turn  to  God  for  strength  to  resist  and 
overcome  the  evil.  In  like  manner  the  Saviour  prayed 
in  Gethsemane  that  the  cup  might  pass ;  but  then, 
since  that  might  not  be,  he  conformed  himseif  to  the 
will  of  God.  All  deep  feelings  grow  into  paradoxes. 
Fear  and  courage  may  coexist.  One  may  dread  to  be 
tempted,  and  yet  rejoice  in  being  tried.^ 

9.  Fasting.  —  We  have  seen  that  Jesus  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  criticism  upon  pretentious  almsgiving  and 
ostentatious  prayer,  when  asked  to  give  an  example 
of  prayer.  Having  complied,  he  now  resumes  the  in- 
terrupted theme,  and  warns  them  against  fasting  in  a 
spirit  of  vanity.  Religious  fasting  had  long  prevailed 
among  the  devout  Jews.  It  had  been  perverted  by 
ascetics  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  the  Pharisees  on  the 

^  The  doxoiogy,  "  For  tliine  is  the  kingdom,"  etc.,  is  admirably  accordant 
■with  the  spirit  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  but  not  with  its  object.  It  was  not 
included  in  the  prayer  as  originally  recorded  by  Matthew,  and  in  Luke  it 
does  not  appear  even  now.  In  the  Jewish  religious  synagogical  services,  to 
which  the  early  Christians  had  been  trained,  the  doxoiogy  was  of  frequent 
occurrence,  and  in  using  the  Lord's  Prayer  it  was  natural  that  it  should 
be  appended  to  this  as  to  all  other  prayers.  It  is  not  strange  that  at 
length  it  should  creep  into  the  text  of  early  versions,  without  the  design 
of  improper  interpolation,  simply  because  in  oral  use  it  had  so  long  been  as- 
sociated with  the  prayer  itself  The  most  ancient  and  authoritative  manu- 
scripts are  unanimous  in  omitting  it. 

Called  forth  by  the  request  of  a  discijile,  the  prayer  was  given,  as  we  see 
by  Matthew's  Gospel,  as  a  model  of  brevity,  in  contrast  with  the  senseless 
repetitions  of  the  heathen  prayers.  It  is  an  extraordinary  fact,  that  the 
Lord's  Prayer  has  been  made  the  agent  of  that  very  repetition  which  it  was 
meant  to  correct.  Tholuck  says  :  "  That  prayer  which  He  gave  as  an  anti- 
dote to  those  repetitions  is  the  very  one  which  has  been  most  abused  by 
vain  repetitions.  According  to  the  rosary,  the  Pater  NoMer  (Patrilociuia, 
as  it  is  called)  is  [in  certain  of  the  church  services]  prayed  fifteen  times  (or 
seven  or  five  times),  and  the  Ave  Maria  one  hundred  and  fifty  times 
(or  fifty  or  sixty-three  times)." 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  351 

other.  Jesus  certainly  uttered  nc  word  which  tended 
to  increase  the  respect  of  men  for  this  practice.  His 
example  was  regarded  as  lowering  the  value  of  fasting, 
and  he  was  on  one  occasion  expostulated  with,  and 
John's  example  contrasted  with  his  more  cheerful 
conduct.  But  he  did  not  come  to  found  a  reli2:ion 
of  the  cave  or  the  cloister,  but  a  religion  which  should 
develop  every  side  of  manhood,  and  which,  while 
deep  and  earnest,  should  yet  be  sweet  and  cheerful. 
In  such  a  religion  nothing  could  be  more  offensive 
than  insincere  devotion,  pretentious  humility,  and 
hypocritical  self-denial. 

Thus  far  the  discourse  had  borne  upon  the  popular 
notions  of  religious  worship.  Jesus  now  subjects  to 
the  spiritual  standard  of  the  new  life  those  economic 
opinions  which  then  ruled  the  world,  as  they  still  do. 
Next  after  the  glory  of  military  power,  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  world  has  always  been  infatuated  with 
riches.  They  command  so  many  sources  of  enjoy- 
ment, and  redeem  men  from  so  many  of  the  humilia- 
tions which  poverty  inflicts,  that  the  Jew,  to  whose 
fathers  wealth  was  promised  as  a  reward  of  obedience, 
a  token  of  Divine  favor,  would  naturally  put  a  very 
high  estimate  upon  it.  In  fact,  the  pursuit  of  Avealth 
was  one  of  the  master  passions  of  that  age.  Every- 
thing else  was  made  subordinate  to  it.  It  usurped 
the  place  of  religion  itself,  and  drew  men  after  it 
with  a  kind  of  fanaticism.  Against  this  over-valuation 
and  inordinate  pursuit  of  wealth  our  Lord  protested. 
Za^  not  up  for  7/oiirselves  treasures  upon  earth, .  ...  hut  lay 
up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven.  Here  moral  excel- 
lence is  put  in  contrast  with  physical  treasure.  Men 
are    to   seek  nobility  of  character^,  riches   of  feeling. 


352  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

strength  of  manhood,  and  not  perishable  wealth.  Nor 
can  they  divide  their  hearts  between  virtue  and  riches 
when  these  stand  in  opposition.  The  soul's  estate 
must  be  the  supreme  ambition.  Unity  and  sim- 
plicity of  moral  purpose  is  indispensable  to  good- 
ness and  happiness.  The  reconciliation  of  avarice 
with  devotion,  of  self-indulgence  in  luxury  with  su- 
preme love  to  God,  is  utterly  impossible.  One  may 
serve  two  masters,  if  the  two  are  of  one  mind ;  one 
may  serve  two  alternately,  even  if  they  differ.  But 
where  two  masters  represent  opposite  qualities  and 
wills,  and  each  demands  the  whole  service,  it  is  im- 
possible to  serve  both.  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mam- 
mon. The  absolute  supremacy  of  man's  moral  nature 
over  every  part  of  secular  life  is  nowhere  taught  with 
such  emphasis  and  solemnity  as  in  Christ's  treatment 
of  riches.  The  ardor  and  force  of  his  declarations 
might  almost  lead  one  to  suppose  that  he  forbade 
his  followers  all  participation  in  riches,  as  will  more 
plainly  appear  when  we  shall  give  a  summary  view  of 
all  his  utterances  on  that  topic. 

Not  only  did  Jesus  reprobate  the  spirit  of  avarice, 
but  the  vulgar  form  of  it  which  exists  among  the 
j)oor  came  under  his  criticism.  All  grinding  anxiety 
for  the  common  necessaries  of  life  he  declared  to  be 
both  unwise  and  impious :  unwise,  because  it  did  no 
good ;  impious,  because  it  reflected  upon  God's  kind 
providence.  He  referred  to  that  economy  in  nature 
by  which  everything  is  provided  for  in  the  simple 
exercise  of  its  common  organs  or  faculties ;  the  grass, 
the  lily,  the  sparrow,  had  but  to  put  forth  their  re- 
spective powers,  and  nature  yielded  all  their  needs. 
Let  man,  a  higher  being,  put  forth  his  nobler  faculties. 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  353 

—  reason  and  the  moral  sentiments,  —  and  a  life  guid- 
ed by  these  would  be  sure  to  draw  in  its  train,  not 
only  virtue  and  happiness,  but  whatever  of  temporal 
good  is  necessary. 

There  is  no  worldly  wisdom  like  that  which  springs 
from  the  moral  sentiments.  On  the  great  scale.  Piety 
and  Plenty  go  hand  in  hand.  He  that  secures  God 
secures  his  favoring  providence.  Man  is  governed 
by  laws  which  reward  morality.  Piety  itself  is  the 
highest  morality.  Seek  ye  first  the  Idngdom  of  God  and 
Ms  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  he  added  unto 
you.  The  sordid  anxieties  of  the  poor  and  the  ava- 
rice of  the  rich  spring  from  the  same  source,  and 
are  alike  culpable.  Faith  in  Divine  Providence  should 
forestall  and  prevent  fretting  cares  and  depressing 
fears. 

This  matchless  discourse  closes  with  a  series  of  moral 
truths  that  are  clustered  together  more  like  a  chapter 
from  the  Book  of  Proverbs  than  like  the  flowing 
sentences  of  an  ordinary  discourse.  Censorious  judg- 
ments of  our  fellow-men  are  forbidden.  Men  who  be- 
lieve themselves  to  hold  the  whole  truth,  and  pride 
themselves  on  knowledge  and  purity,  are  very  apt  to 
look  with  suspicion  and  contempt  on  all  that  are  not 
orthodox  according  to  their  standard.  Harsh  judg- 
ments in  religious  matters  seem  inseparable  from  a 
state  in  which  conscience  is  strono-er  than  love.  Leni- 
ency  and  forgiveness  are  commanded  5  blindness  to  our 
own  faults  and  sensitiveness  to  the  failings  of  others 
are  pointed  out.  Caution  is  enjoined  in  speaking  of 
eminent  truths  in  the  hearing  of  the  base.  The  fa- 
therhood  of  God,   far   nobler  and  kinder  than   any 

23 


354  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

earthly  fatherhood,  is  made  the  ground  of  confident 
supplication.  The  Golden  Rule  is  set  forth.  Religion 
is  declared  not  to  be  an  indolent  luxury,  but  a  vehe- 
ment strife,  taxing  men's  resources  to  the  uttermost. 
His  disciples  are  cautioned  against  false  teachers, 
against  specious  morality,  against  a  boastful  famil- 
iarity with  Divine  things  while  the  life  is  carnal  and 
secular ;  and,  finally,  his  hearers  are  urged  to  a  prac- 
tical use  of  the  whole  discourse  by  a  striking  pic- 
ture of  houses  built  upon  the  sand  or  u|)on  the  rock, 
and  their  respective  powers  of  endurance. 

1.  In  this  sermon  of  Jesus  there  is  a  full  and  con- 
tinual disclosure  of  a  Divine  consciousness  which  did 
not  leave  him  to  the  end  of  his  career.  His  method 
was  that  of  simple  declaration,  and  not  of  reasoning  or 
of  proof  The  simjDle  sentences  of  the  Sermon  fell 
from  him  as  ripe  fruit  from  the  bough  in  a  still  day. 
Although  they  reached  out  far  beyond  the  attain- 
ments of  his  age,  and  developed  an  ideal  style  of 
character  and  a  sphere  of  morality  which  addressed 
itself  to  the  heroic  elements  in  man,  his  teachings 
were  not  labored  nor  elaborate,  but  had  the  complete- 
ness and  brevity  of  thoughts  most  familiar  to  him. 
He  unfolded  the  old  national  faith  to  its  innermost 
nature.  In  his  hands  it  glowed  as  if  it  were  de- 
scended from  heaven ;  and  yet  he  spoke  of  the  relig- 
ion of  the  Jews'  with  the  authority  of  a  god,  and  not 
with  the  submissiveness  of  a  man.  He  stood  in  the 
road  along  which  travelled  a  thousand  traditions  and 
evil  glosses,  and  turned  them  aside  by  his  simple,  im- 
perial, "  I  say  unto  you  "  ! 

There  was  no  inequality  or  unharmony  in  the 
whole   discourse.      The  pitch  at   the   beginning   was 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  355 

taken  far  above  the  line  of  any  doctrine  then  in  prac- 
tice, and  to  the  end  the  elevation  was  sustained.  It 
was  the  teaching  of  one  who  saw  men  as  men  had 
never  yet  been.  The  possible  manhood,  never  yet 
developed,  was  familiar  to  Jesus,  and  upon  that  ideal 
he  fashioned  every  precept.  Not  a  note  fell  from  the 
pitch.  Every  single  thought  was  brought  up  to  a  man- 
hood far  transcending  that  of  his  own  age.  It  is  this 
that  gives  to  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  an  air  of  im- 
possibility. Men  look  upon  its  requisitions  as  exceed- 
ing the  power  of  man.  But  none  of  them  were 
lowered  in  accommodation  to  the  moral  tone  of  his 
times,  every  one  of  them  chording  with  the  key- 
note, —  Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter 
irdo  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

2.  In  its  spirit  and  secret  tendency  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount  may  be  regarded  as  a  charter  of  personal 
LIBERTY.  It  does  uot  formally  proclaim  man's  freedom, 
but  no  one  can  follow  it  without  that  result.  It  places 
moral  life  upon  grounds  which  imply  and  promote 
moral  sovereignty  in  the  individual.  This  it  does  by 
removing  the  emphasis  of  authority  derived  from  all 
external  rules,  and  placing  it  in  man's  own  moral  con- 
sciousness. It  is  an  appeal  from  rules  to  principles. 
Rules  are  mere  methods  by  which  principles  are  specifi- 
cally applied.  Feeble  and  undeveloped  natures  need 
at  each  step  a  formula  of  action.  They  are  not  wise 
enough  to  apply  a  principle  to  the  changing  circum- 
stances of  experience.  But  rules  that  help  the  weak 
to  follow  principle  should  tend  to  educate  them  to 
follow  principle  without  such  help.  Instead  of  that, 
rulers,  teachers,  and  hierarchs,  finding  them  convenient 


356  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

instruments  of  authority,  multiply  tliem,  clothe  them 
with  the  sanctity  of  principles,  and  hold  men  in  a 
bondage  of  superstition  to  customs,  rites,  and  arbitrary 
regulations. 

The  appeal  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  always 
to  the  natural  grounds  of  right,  and  never  to  the  tra- 
ditional, the  historical,  and  the  artificial.  In  no  single 
case  did  Jesus  institute  a  method,  or  external  law. 
Every  existing  custom  or  practice  which  he  touched 
he  resolved  back  to  some  natural  faculty  or  principle. 
By  shifting  the  legislative  power  from  the  external  to 
the  internal,  from  rules  to  principles,  from  synagogues 
and  Sanhedrim  to  the  living  moral  consciousness  of 
men,  the  way  was  prepared  for  great  expansion  of 
reason  and  freedom  of  conscience.  The  most  striking 
example  of  philosophic  generalization  in  history  is  that 
by  which  Jesus  reduced  the  whole  Mosaic  system  and 
the  whole  substance  of  Jewish  literature  into  the 
simple  principle  of  love.  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self. On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  Laiv  and  the 
Prophets^ 

This  discourse  recognizes  the  soul  as  the  man.  The 
body  is  only  a  passive  instrument.  Action  is  but  the 
evidence  of  what  is  going  on  within ;  it  has  no  moral 
character,  good  or  bad,  except  that  which  is  impressed 
upon  it  by  the  faculties  which  inspire  it.  A  man's 
thoughts  and  cherished  feelings  determine  his  char- 
acter. He  may  be  a  murderer,  who  never  slays  his 
enemy ;  an  adulterer,  who  never  fulfils  the  wishes  of 
illicit  love ;  an  irreligious  man,  who  spends  his  life  in 
offices  of  devotion ;  a  selfish  creature,  whose  vanity  in- 
spu-es  charitable  gifts.     It  is  the  soul  that  determines 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  357 

manhood.  Only  God  and  man's  self  can  control  these. 
Man  is  the  love-servant  of  God,  and  sovereign  of  him- 
self The  highest  personal  Hberty  consists  in  the 
ability  and  willingness  of  man  to  do  right  from  inward 
choice,  and  not  from  external  influences. 

3.  In  this  inward  and  spiritual  element  we  have 
the  solution  of  difficulties  which  to  many  have  be- 
set what  may  be  called  the  political  and  economic 
themes  of  this  discourse.  Jesus  disclosed  to  his  dis- 
ciples a  kingdom  in  which  no  man  should  employ 
physical  force  in  self-defence ;  and  yet  this  would 
seem  to  give  unobstructed  dominion  to  selfish  strength. 
No  man  may  resist  the  unlawful  demands  of  govern- 
ment, —  let  him  rather  do  cheerfully  far  more  than  is 
wrongfully  required,  —  and  to  every  aspect  of  physi- 
cal force  he  would  have  his  disciples  oppose  only  the 
calmness  and  kindness  of  benevolence ;  yet  this  would 
seem  to  make  wicked  governments  secure.  The  his- 
tory of  civilization  certainly  shows  that  society  can 
redeem  itself  from  barbarism  only  by  enterprise,  by 
painstaking  industry,  by  sagacious  foresight  and  rea- 
sonable care ;  but  Jesus  refers  his  disciples  to  the 
flowers  and  birds  as  exemplars  of  freedom  from  care ; 
forbids  men  to  lay  up  treasure  on  earth,  or  to  live  in 
regard  to  earthly  things  more  than  by  the  single  day, 
and  declares  that  they  must  implicitly  trust  the  pa- 
ternal care  of  God  for  all  their  wants.  Nay,  if  they 
are  possessed  of  some  wealth,  they  are  not  to  hus- 
band it,  but  give  to  him  that  asketh  thee,  and  from  him 
that  would  horrow  of  thee  turn  not  thou  away. 

It  is  certain  that  a  literal  interpretation  of  these 
precepts  respecting  giving,  lending,  resistance  of  evil, 
forethought,  acquisition  of  property  and  its  tenure  in 


358  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

common,  would  bring  Christianity  into  conflict  with 
every  approved  doctrine  of  pohtical  economy,  and 
would  seem  to  comjDel  man  to  spend  his  earthly  life 
in  little  more  than  meditation, — a  conception  which 
might  suit  the  natural  ease,  not  to  say  indolence,  of 
an  Oriental  life  in  a  genial  tropical  climate,  but  which 
would  seem  utterly  ruinous  to  the  prosperity  of  a 
vigorous  and  enterprising  race  in  the  cold  zones  and 
upon  a  penurious  soil.  To  insist  upon  a  literal  ful- 
filment of  miy  economic  precepts  would  violate  the 
spirit  of  the  discourse,  whose  very  genius  it  is  to  re- 
lease men  from  bondage  to  the  letter  and  bring  them 
into  the  liberty  of  the  spirit. 

It  is  very  certain  that  an  earnest  attempt  to  make 
the  spirit  of  these  precepts  the  rule  of  life  will  bring 
out  in  men  a  moral  force  of  transcendent  value,  and 
that  among  primitive  Christians,  and  in  modern  days 
in  the  small  company  of  Friends,  a  remarkable  degree 
of  prosperity  even  in  worldly  things  has  followed  a 
more  rigorous  interpretation  of  these  commands  than 
is  generally  practised.  On  the  other  hand,  the  at- 
tempt to  make  property  the  common  and  equal  pos- 
session of  all  has  led  to  some  of  the  worst  social  evils. 
The  partial  success  which  has  attended  the  experi- 
ment, in  small  bodies,  has  been  at  the  expense  of  a 
general  development  of  the  individuals.  But  whether 
an  immediate  and  literal  obedience  to  Christ's  teach- 
ings upon  the  subject  of  property  and  industry  would 
be  beneficial,  or  would  be  jDOssible  in  nations  not 
placed  as  the  Jews  were,  —  whether  the  weight  of 
society  and  all  the  accumulations  of  that  very  civili- 
zation which  Christianity  has  produced  could  be  sus- 
tained   upon    such   foundations,  —  hardly    admits    of 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  359 

debate.  If  his  precepts  were  meant  ever  to  be  taken 
literally,  it  must  have  been  in  a  condition  of  society  in 
the  future,  of  which  there  was  yet  no  pattern  among 
men. 

It  is  certain  that  every  step  which  human  hfe  has 
ever  taken  toward  a  full  reahzation  of  the  general 
morality  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  has  developed 
an  unsuspected  and  wonderful  prosperity,  moral  and 

social. 

We  must  believe,  then,  that  Jesus  gave  this  grand 
picture  of  the  new  life  for  immediate  and  practical 
use,  but  that  it  was  to  be  interpreted,  not  by  the 
narrowness  of  the  letter,  but  by  the  largeness  of  the 
spirit.  He  seemed  to  foresee  what  has  so  often  ap- 
peared, the  barren  admiration  of  men  who  praise  this 
discourse  as  a  power,  as  a  merely  ideal  justice,  as  a 
beautiful  but  impracticable  scheme  of  ethics;  for  he 
turns  upon  such,  at  the  close,  with  a  striking  para- 
ble designed  to  enforce  the  immediate  application  of 
his  teachings.  And  why  call  ye  me  Lord,  Lord,  and 
do  not  the  things  which  I  say  ?  Therefore  whosoever 
cometh  to  me,  and  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine,  and 
doeth  them,  I  will  show  you  to  whom  he  is  like :  he 
is  like  a  wise  man  which  built  his  house  and  digged 
deep,  and  laid  the  foundation  on  a  rock;  and  when 
the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the 
winds  blew,  and  the  storm  beat  violently  upon  that 
house  and  could  not  shake  it,  it  fell  not,  for  it  was 
founded  on  a  rock.  But  every  one  that  heareth  these 
sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth  them  not,  is  like  a  fool- 
ish man,  which  built  his  house  without  a  foundation 
upon  the  sand ;  and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods 
came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  the  storm  did  beat 


360  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

vehemently  upon  that  house,  and  immediately  it  fell, 
and  great  was  the  fall  of  it. 

4,  The  hold  which  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  has 
had,  and  continues  to  have,  upon  men  of  diverse  tem- 
peraments and  beliefs,  is  not  to  be  accounted  for  by 
an  inventory  of  its  ethical  points.  It  reached  to  the 
very  centre  of  rectitude,  and  gave  to  human  conduct 
inspirations  that  will  never  diminish.  All  this  might 
have  been  done  in  unsympathetic  severity,  leaving 
the  Sermon  like  a  mountain  barrier  between  right 
and  wrong,  so  rugged,  barren,  and  solitary  that  men 
would  not  love  to  ascend  or  frequent  it.  But  Jesus 
breathed  over  the  whole  an  air  of  genial  tranquillity 
that  wins  men  to  it  as  to  a  garden.  The  precepts 
grow  like  flowers,  and  are  fragrant.  The  cautions 
and  condemnations  lie  like  sunny  hedges  or  walls 
covered  with  moss  or  vmes.  In  no  part  can  it  be 
called  dreamy,  yet  it  is  pervaded  by  an  element  of 
sweetness  and  peace,  which  charms  us  none  the  less 
because  it  eludes  analysis.  Like  a  mild  day  in  early 
June,  the  sky,  the  earth,  the  air,  the  birds  and  herbage, 
things  near  and  things  far  off,  seem  under  some 
heavenly  influence.  The  heavens  unfold,  and  in  place 
of  dreadful  deities  we  behold  "  Our  Father."  His 
personal  care  is  over  all  the  affairs  of  life.  The  trials 
of  this  mortal  sphere  go  on  for  a  purpose  of  good,  and 
our  fears,  our  burdens,  and  our  sufferings  are  neither 
accidents  nor  vengeful  punishments,  but  a  discipline 
of  education.  The  end  of  life  is  a  glorified  manhood. 
At  every  step  Jesus  invokes  the  nobler  motives  of  the 
human  soul.  There  is  nothing  of  the  repulsiveness  of 
morbid  anatomy.  Where  the  knife  cut  to  the  very 
nerve,  it  was  a  clean  and  wholesome  blade,  that  carried 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  361 

no  poison.  The  whole  discourse  lifts  one  out  of  the 
lower  life,  and  sets  in  motion  those  higher  impulses 
from  which  the  soul  derives  its  strength  and  happiness. 
While  it  has  neither  the  rhythm  nor  the  form  of 
poetry,  yet  an  ideal  element  in  it  produces  all  the 
charms  of  poetry.  Portions  of  the  Sermon  might  be 
chanted  in  low  tones,  as  one  sings  cheering  songs  in 
his  solitude.  It  is  full  of  light,  full  of  cheer,  full  of 
faith  in  Divine  love  and  of  the  certainty  of  possible 
goodness  in  man.  The  immeasurable  distance  between 
the  flesh  and  the  spirit,  between  the  animal  and  man, 
is  nowhere  more  clearly  revealed  than  in  this  beautiful 
discourse.  Thus  the  Son  of  God  stood  among  men, 
talking  with  them  face  to  face  as  a  brother,  and  giving 
to  them,  in  his  own  spirit,  glimpses  of  that  heavenly 
rest  for  which  all  the  world,  at  times,  doth  sigh. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  drew  a  line  which  left 
the  great  body  of  the  influential  men  of  his  country 
on  one  side,  and  Jesus  and  his  few  disciples  on  the 
other.  If  it  were  to  be  merely  a  discourse,  and  nothing 
else,  it  might  be  tolerated.  But  if  it  was  a  policy,  to 
be  followed  up  by  active  measures,  it  was  scarcely  less 
than  an  open  declaration  of  war.  The  Pharisees  were 
held  up  by  name  to  the  severest  criticism.  Their 
philosophy  and  their  most  sacred  religious  customs 
were  mercilessly  denounced,  and  men  were  warned 
against  their  tendencies.  The  influence  of  the  criti- 
cisms upon  fasting,  prayer,  and  almsgiving  was  not 
limited  to  these  special  topics,  but  must  have  been 
regarded  as  an  attack  upon  the  whole  method  of  wor- 
ship by  means  of  cumbersome  rituals.  Ritualism  was 
not  expressly  forbidden ;  but  if  the  invisible  was  to  be 


362  TEE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

SO  highly  esteemed,  if  simplicity,  heart  purity,  spirit- 
uality, and  absolute  privacy  of  spiritual  life,  were  to  be 
accepted  as  the  governing  ideals  of  worship,  all  author- 
itative and  obligatory  ritualism  would  wither  and  drop 
away  from  the  ripened  grain  as  so  much  chaff,  —  with- 
out prejudice,  however,  to  the  spontaneous  use  of  such 
material  forms  in  worship  as  may  be  found  by  any 
one  to  be  specially  helpful  to  him.  Neither  in  this 
sermon  nor  in  any  after  discourse  did  Jesus  encourage 
the  use  of  symbols,  if  we  except  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  He  never  rebuked  men  for  neglect  of 
forms,  nor  put  one  new  interpretation  to  them,  nor 
added  a  line  of  attractive  color.  The  whole  land  was 
fidl  of  ritual  customs.  The  days  were  all  marked. 
The  very  hours  were  numbered.  Every  emotion  had 
its  channel  and  course  pointed  out.  Men  were  drilled 
to  religious  methods,  until  all  sj)ontaneity  and  personal 
liberty  had  wellnigh  become  extinct.  In  the  midst 
of  such  artificial  ways,  Christ  stands  up  as  an  emanci- 
pator. He  appeals  directly  to  the  reason  and  to  the 
conscience  of  men.  He  founds  nothing  upon  the  old 
authority.  He  even  confronts  the  "  common  law  "  of 
his  nation  with  his  own  personal  authority,  as  if  his 
words  would  touch  a  responsive  feeling  in  every  heart. 
"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time," 
—  But  I  say  unto  you.  This  was  an  appeal  from  all 
the  past  to  the  living  consciousness  of  the  present.  It 
was  so  understood.  There  was  an  unmistakable  and 
imperial  force  in  that  phrase,  "I  say  unto  you";  and 
when  the  last  sentence  had  been  heard,  there  was  a 
stir,  and  the  universal  feeling  broke  out  in  the  expres- 
sion, "  He  teaches  as  one  having  authority,  and  not  as 
the  Scribes." 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  363 

Whatever  may  have  kept  the  Pharisees  silent,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  this  discourse  was  regarded  by 
them  as  an  end  of  peace.  Henceforth  their  only 
thought  was  how  to  compass  the  downfall  of  a  dan- 
gerous man,  who  threatened  to  alienate  the  people 
from  their  religious  control.  Every  day  Jesus  would 
now  be  more  closely  watched.  His  enemies  were  all 
the  while  in  secret  counsel.  Step  by  step  they  fol- 
lowed him,  from  the  slopes  of  Mount  Hattin  to  the 
summit  of  Calvary ! 


364  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE  BEGrNNING  OF  CONFLICT. 

The  crowd  did  not  disperse  or  open  to  let  Jesus 
pass  through,  but  closed  about  him  and  thronged  his 
steps,  as  he  returned  home  to  Capernaum.  His  dis- 
courses seem  to  have  fascinated  the  people  almost  as 
much  as  his  wonderful  deeds  astonished  them.  We  do 
not  imagine  that  the  walk  was  a  silent  one.  There 
must  have  been  much  conversation  by  the  way,  much 
discussion,  and  doubtless  many  replies  of  wisdom  and 
beneficence  from  Jesus  not  less  striking  than  the  sen- 
tences of  the  sermon.  From  this  time  forth  the  life 
of  Jesus  is  crowded  with  dramatic  incidents.  No- 
where else  do  we  find  so  many  events  of  great  moral 
significance  painted  with  unconscious  skill  by  so  few 
strokes.  Their  number  perplexes  our  attention.  Like 
stars  in  a  rich  cluster  in  the  heavens,  they  run  to- 
gether into  a  haze  of  brightness,  to  be  resolved  into 
their  separate  elements  only  by  the  strongest  glass. 
Each  incident,  if  drawn  apart  and  studied  separately, 
affords  food  for  both  the  imagination  and  the  heart. 

By  one  occurrence  a  striking  insight  is  given  into 
the  relations  which  sometimes  subsisted  between  the 
Jews  and  their  conquerors.  Not  a  few  Romans,  it  may 
be  believed,  were  won  to  the  Jewish  religion.  The 
centurion  of  Capernaum,  without  doubt,  was  a  convert. 
We  cannot  conceive  otherwise  that  he  should  have  built 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  365 

the  Jews  a  synagogue,  and  that  he  should  be  on  such 
intimate  terms  with  the  rulers  of  it  as  to  make  them 
his  messengers  to  Jesus.  This  Roman,  like  so  many 
other  subjects  of  the  Gospel  record,  has  come  down 
to  us  without  a  name,  and,  except  a  single  scene,  with- 
out a  history. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  Jesus  to  Capernaum,  he  was 
met  (where,  it  is  not  said)  by  the  rulers  of  the  syna- 
gogue, bearing  an  earnest  request  from  the  centurion 
that  he  would  heal  a  favorite  slave,  who  lay  sick  and 
at  the  point  of  death.  The  honorable  men  who  bore 
the  message  must  have  been  well  known  to  Jesus,  and 
their  importunity  revealed  their  own  interest  in  their 
errand.  "  They  besought  him  instantly,  saying  that 
he  was  worthy  for  whom  he  should  do  this."  Nor 
should  we  fiiil  to  notice  this  appeal  made  to  the  patri- 
otism of  Jesus,  which,  coming  from  men  who  were 
familiar  with  his  life  and  teachings,  indicates  a  marked 
quality  of  his  disposition.  "  He  loveth  our  nation,  and 
he  hath  built  us  a  synagogue."  That  the  heart  of 
Jesus  was  touched  is  shown  in  that  he  required  no  tests 
of  faith,  but  with  prompt  sympathy  said,  "  I  will  come 
and  heal  him."  And,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  he 
went  with  them  at  once  to  the  centurion's  house. 

Learning  that  Jesus  was  drawing  near,  the  centu- 
rion sent  another  deputation,  whose  message,  both  for 
courtesy  and  for  humility,  in  one  born  to  command, 
was  striking,  —  "Lord,  trouble  not  thyself;  for  I  am 
not  worthy  that  thou  shouldest  enter  under  my  roof: 
wherefore  neither  thought  I  myself  worthy  to  come 
imto  thee ;  but  speak  the  woi'^i  <5i^lj?  ^^^  my  servant 
shall  be  healed."  Then,  alluding  to  his  own  command 
over  his  followers,  he  implies  that  Jesus  has  but  to 


366       THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

make  known  his  will,  and  all  diseases,  and  life,  and 
death  itself,  would  obey  as  promptly  as  soldiers  the 
word  of  command.  The  whole  scene  filled  Jesus  with 
pleasurable  astonishment.  He  loved  the  sight  of  a 
noble  nature.  And  yet  the  contrast  between  the 
hardness  of  his  unbelieving  countrymen  and  the  art- 
less dignity  of  faith  manifested  by  this  heathen  for- 
eigner brought  grief  to  his  heart.  It  suggested  the 
rejection  of  Israel  and  the  ingathering  of  the  Gentiles. 
Many  shall  come  from  the  east  and  west,  and  shall 
sit  down  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven;  but  the  children  of  the  king- 
dom shall  be  cast  out  into  outer  darkness.  Then 
turning  to  the  messenger  he  said,  "Go  thy  way;  and 
as  thou  hast  believed,  so  be  it  done  unto  thee."  The 
servant  was  instantly  healed. 

The  severity  of  tone  with  which  Jesus  spoke  of  the 
unbelief  of  the  leaders  of  his  people,  and  of  his  re- 
jection by  them,  is  only  one  among  many  indications 
of  the  rising  intensity  of  his  feelings  at  this  period. 
Every  day  seemed  to  develop  in  him  a  higher  energy. 
His  calmness  did  not  forsake  him,  but  the  sovereignty 
of  his  nature  was  every  hour  more  apparent.  He 
was  now  more  than  ever  to  grapple  with  demonic  in- 
fluences, and  to  overcome  them.  He  was  about  to 
make  his  power  felt  in  the  realms  of  death,  and 
bring  back  to  life  those  who  had  passed  from  it.  The 
conduct  of  his  family  and  the  criticisms  of  the  jealous 
Pharisees,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  plainly  enough  indi- 
cate that  this  elevation  of  spirit  manifested  itself  in 
his  whole  carriage,  and  many  even  believed  that  he 
was  insane,  or  else  under  infernal  influences. 

On  the  day  following  the  healing  of  the  centurion's 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  367 

servant,  Jesus,  on  one  of  the  short  excursions  which 
he  was  wont  to  make  from  Capernaum,  came  to  the 
village  of  Nain,  on  the  slope  of  Little  Hermon  and 
nearly  south  of  Nazareth,  on  the  edge  of  the  great 
plain  of  Esdraelon.  In  the  rocky  sides  of  the  hill 
near  by  were  hewn  the  burial-chambers  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  toward  them,  as  Jesus  drew  near,  was  slowly 
proceeding  a  funeral  train.  It  was  a  widowed  mother 
bearing  her  only  son  to  the  sepulchre.  She  was  well 
known,  and  the  circumstances  of  her  great  loss  had 
touched  the  sympathies  of  her  townsfolk,  "  and  much 
people  of  the  city  was  with  her."  His  first  word  was 
one  of  courage  to  the  disconsolate  mourner,  —  "Weep 
not!"  He  then  laid  his  hand  upon  the  bier.  Such 
was  his  countenance  and  commanding  attitude  that 
the  procession  halted.  There  was  to  be  no  deluding 
ceremony,  no  necromancy.  "  Young  man,  I  say  unto 
thee.  Arise ! "  The  blood  again  beat  from  his  heart, 
the  light  dawned  upon  his  eyes,  and  his  breathing  lips 
spake ! 

There  is  no  grief  like  a  mother's  grief.  No  one  who 
has  the  heart  of  a  son  can  see  a  great  nature  given 
up  to  inconsolable  sorrow  without  sympathy.  It  was 
not  the  mission  of  Jesus  to  stay  the  hand  of  death,  nor 
did  he  often  choose  to  bring  back  the  spirit  that  had 
once  fled ;  but  there  seem  to  have  been  two  motives 
here  for  his  interposition.  The  overwhelming  grief  of 
the  widowed  mother  wrought  strongly  upon  his  sym- 
pathy, and  there  were  special  reasons  why  he  should 
just  now  make  a  supreme  manifestation  of  his  Divine 
power.  Every  day  the  leaven  of  opposition  to  him 
was  working.  Openly  or  insidiously,  he  was  resisted 
and  vilified.     His  own  spirit  evidently  was  roused  to 


368  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

intensity,  and  began  to  develop  an  elevation  and  force 
wliicli  far  surpassed  any  hitherto  put  forth.  At  such 
a  time,  the  restoration  to  life  of  a  dead  man,  in  the 
presence  of  so  vast  a  throng,  could  not  but  produce 
a  deep  impression.  It  was  an  act  of  sovereignty 
which  would  render  powerless  the  efforts  of  the  emis- 
saries from  Jerusalem  to  wean  the  common  people 
from  his  influence.  This  end  seems  to  have  been 
gained.  The  people  were  electrified,  and  cried  out, 
"A  great  prophet  is  risen  up  among  us!"  others  said, 
"  God  hath  visited  his  people."  The  tidings  of  this 
act  ran  through  the  nation;  not  only  in  "the  region 
round  about,"  but  "  the  rumor  of  him  went  forth 
throughout  all  Judoea." 

The  battle  now  begins.  Everjrwhere  he  carried  with 
him  the  enthusiastic  multitude.  Everywhere  the  Tem- 
ple party,  lurking  about  his  steps,  grew  more  deter- 
mined to  resist  the  reformation  and  to  destroy  the 
reformer.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  presence 
and  the  miracles  of  Jesus  produced  the  same  effect 
upon  the  multitudes  present  with  him  that  they  do 
■upon  devout  and  believing  souls  now.  Our  Avhole  life 
has  been  educated  by  the  discourses  of  this  Divine  Man. 
We  do  violence  to  our  nature,  to  all  our  associations 
and  sympathies,  if  we  do  not  believe.  But  in  the 
crowds  which  surrounded  Jesus  in  his  lifetime  there 
was  every  conceivable  diversity  of  disposition;  and 
though  curiosity  and  wonder  and  a  general  social  ex- 
hilaration were  common  to  all,  these  were  not  valuable 
in  the  eyes  of  Jesus.  The  insatiable  hunger  of  Ori- 
entals for  signs  and  wonders  was  even  a  hindrance  to 
his  designs  of  instruction.  In  every  way  he  repressed 
this  vague  and  fruitless  excitement.    The  deeper  moral 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  369 

emotions  which  he  most  esteemed  were  produced  in 
very  imperfect  forms  and  in  but  comparatively  few 
persons.  Cautious  men  held  their  convictions  in  sus- 
pense. Many  favored  him  and  followed  him  without 
really  committing  themselves  to  his  cause. 

There  will  always  be  men  who  will  show  favor  to 
the  hero  of  the  hour.  Such  a  one  was  Simon  the 
Pharisee,  who  probably  dwelt  in  Nain  or  in  its  neigh- 
borhood, for  at  that  time  this  whole  region  was  pop- 
ulous and  prosperous.  It  had  not  then  been  given 
over  to  the  incursions  of  the  Bedouins,  who  for  cen- 
turies have  by  continual  ravages  kept  this  beautiful 
territory  in  almost  complete  desolation. 

Invited  to  the  house  of  Simon  to  dine,  Jesus  re- 
paired thither  with  his  disciples.  There  went  with 
him,  also,  unbidden  guests.  Not  the  widowed  mother 
alone  had  felt  the  sympathy  of  his  nature.  While  he 
w^as  bringing  back  to  life  her  son,  there  was  in  the 
crowd  one  who  felt  the  need  of  a  resurrection  from 
the  dead  even  more  than  if  her  body,  rather  than  her 
honor,  had  died.  In  the  presence  of  Jesus  the  sense 
of  her  degradation  became  unendurable.  In  him  she 
beheld  a  benefactor  who  misfht  rescue  her.  All  men 
despised  her.  Her  reputation,  like  a  brazen  wall, 
stood  between  her  and  reformation.  For  her  there 
were  no  helpers.  Bad  men  were  friendly  only  for 
evil.  Moral  men  shut  up  their  sympathies  from  one 
who  was  an  outcast.  The  gratitude  of  the  mother  for 
her  child  restored  must  have  been  like  incense  to  the 
sensitive  soul  of  Jesus.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  he 
did  not  more  profoundly  rejoice  in  the  remorse,  the 
absorbing  grief,  the  hope  struggling  against  despair, 
that  filled  the  bosom  of  this  unknown  Magdalen. 

2-1 


370  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

As  Jesiis  reclined  at  dinner,  according  to  the  Ori- 
ental custom,  this  penitent  woman,  coming  behind, 
without  word  or  permission,  wept  at  the  feet  of  Jesus 
unrebuked.  So  copiously  flowed  her  tears  that  his  feet 
were  wet,  and  with  her  dishevelled  locks  she  sought  to 
remove  the  sacred  tears  of  penitence.  The  very  per- 
fumes which  had  been  provided  for  her  own  person  she 
lavished  upon  this  stranger's  feet.  That  she  was  not 
spurned  was  to  her  trembling  heart  a  sign  of  grace  and 
favor.  When  the  Pharisee  beheld,  without  sympathy, 
the  forbearance  of  Jesus,  it  stirred  up  his  heart  against 
his  guest.  Like  many  others  he  had  been  in  suspense 
as  to  the  true  character  of  the  man.  Now  the  decis- 
ion was  unfavorable.  It  was  clear  that  he  was  not  a 
prophet  of  God.  "  This  man,  if  he  were  a  prophet," 
he  said  within  himself,  "  would  have  known  who  and 
what  manner  of  woman  this  is  that  toucheth  him :  for 
she  is  a  sinner."  He  could  not  conceive  of  a  divinity 
of  compassion.  God,  to  his  imagination,  was  only  an 
enlarged  Pharisee,  careful  of  his  own  safety,  and  care- 
less of  those  made  wretched  by  their  own  sins.  These 
thoughts  were  interpreted  upon  his  countenance  by  a 
look  of  displeasure  and  contempt.  He  did  not  expect 
to  be  humbled  in  the  sight  of  all  his  guests  by  an 
exposition  of  his  own  inhospitality ;  for  it  seems  that 
while  he  had  invited  Jesus  to  dine,  it  was  more  from 
curiosity  than  respect,  and  he  seems  to  have  consid- 
ered that  the  favor  which  he  thus  conferred  released 
him  from  those  rites  which  belong  to  Oriental  hospi- 
tality. In  a  parable,  Jesus  propounded  to  him  a  ques- 
tion. If  a  creditor  generously  forgives  two  debtors, 
one  of  fifty  pence  and  the  other  of  five  hundred, 
which  will  experience  the  most  gratitude  ?     The  an- 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  CONFLICT.  371 

swer  was  obvious,  "  I  suppose  that  he  to  whom  he 
forgave  most."  "  Thou  hast  rightly  judged."  Then, 
in  simple  phrase,  but  with  terrible  emphasis,  he  con- 
trasted the  conduct  of  this  fallen  woman  with  the 
insincere  hospitality  of  the  host.  "Seest  thou  this 
woman  ?  I  entered  into  thine  house,  thou  gavest  me 
no  water  for  my  feet :  but  she  hath  washed  my  feet 
with  tears,  and  wiped  them  with  the  hairs  of  her  head. 
Thou  gavest  me  no  kiss :  but  this  woman  since  the 
time  I  came  in  hath  not  ceased  to  kiss  my  feet.  My 
head  with  oil  thou  didst  not  anoint :  but  this  woman 
hath  anointed  my  feet  with  ointment.  Wherefore  I 
say  unto  thee.  Her  sins,  which  are  many,  are  forgiven ; 
for  she  loved  much :  but  to  whom  little  is  forgiven, 
the  same  loveth  little."  With  ineffable  grace,  Jesus 
turns  from  the  Pharisee,  silent  under  this  rebuke,  to 
the  woman :  "  Thy  sins  are  forgiven."  The  effect 
produced  upon  the  company  shows  that  these  words 
were  no  mere  pious  phrases,  but  were  uttered  with 
an  authority  which  a  mere  man  had  no  right  to 
assume.  "Who  is  this  that  forgive th  sins  also?" 
Truly,  who  can  forgive  sins  but  God  only  ?  Jesus  did 
not  deign  an  explanation.  In  the  same  lofty  mood 
of  sovereignty  he  dismissed  the  ransomed  soul :  "  Thy 
fliitli  hath  saved  thee  ;  go  in  peace."  But  such  a  gra- 
cious sentence  was  the  strongest  possible  confirmation 
of  their  judgment  that  he  had  assumed  to  perform  the 
functions  of  a  Divine  Being. 

We  shall  hereafter  find  many  a  brief  controversy  in 
which  a  parable,  or  a  simple  question  touching  the 
marrow  of  things,  puts  his  adversaries  to  silence,  con- 
victing them  even  when  they  would  not  be  convinced. 
Upon  this  day  there  had  been  two   deaths,  and  the 


372  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

living  death  the  most  piteous  and  least  pitied  among 
men :  two  resurrections,  and  the  less  marvellous  of 
the  two  was  the  more  wondered  at :  two  proofs  of 
Divinity,  —  one  to  the  senses,  and  impressive  to  the 
lowest  and  highest  alike;  the  other  transcendently 
brighter,  but  perceived  only  by  those  whose  moral 
sensibilities  gave  them  spiritual  eyesight.  The  fur- 
ther history  of  the  widow's  son  is  not  recorded.  For 
a  moment  he  stands  forth  with  singular  distinctness, 
and  then  sinks  back  into  forgetfulness,  without  name 
or  memorial. 

At  about  this  time  the  figure  of  John  comes  for  a 
moment  to  the  light.  He  had  probably  lain  for  six 
months  in  his  prison  at  Machasrus.  Although  in  his 
youth  he  had  been  trained  in  solitude,  it  was  the  soli- 
tude of  freedom  and  of  the  wilderness.  There  is  evi- 
dence that  his  long  confinement  in  prison  began  to 
wear  upon  his  spirits.  It  is  true  that  he  was  not 
wholly  cut  off  from  the  companionship  of  men.  As 
John's  offence  was  political  only  in  pretence,  Herod 
did  not  guard  his  prisoner  so  but  that  his  disciples  had 
access  to  him.  Can  we  doubt  what  was  the  one  theme 
of  the  Baptist's  inquiry  ?  The  work  Avhich  he  had 
begun,  which  Jesus  was  to  take  up,  —  how  fared  it  ? 
Why  was  there  no  overwhelming  disclosure  of  the 
new  kingdom  ?  Of  what  use  were  discourses  and  won- 
derful works  so  long  as  the  nation  stood  unmoved  ?  A 
long  time  had  elapsed  since  Christ's  baptisin.  He  had 
not  openly  proclaimed  even  his  Messiahship.  He  had 
rot  gathered  his  followers  either  into  a  church  or  an 
army.  He  gave  no  signs  of  lifting  that  banner  which 
was  to  lead  Israel  to  universal  supremacy.  He  was 
spending  his  days  in  Galilee,  far  from  Jerusalem,  the 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  373 

proper  capital  of  the  new  kingdom  as  of  the  old,  and 
among  a  largely  foreign  population.  Nor  was  he  de- 
nouncing the  wickedness  of  his  times  as  John  did,  nor 
keeping  the  reserve  of  a  lofty  sanctity,  but  was  teach- 
ing in  villages  like  a  prophet-schoolmaster,  receiving 
the  frequent  hospitality  of  the  rich,  and  even  partaking 
of  social  festivities  and  public  banquets.  Many  of 
John's  disciples,  as  we  know,  were  with  Jesus  during 
several  of  his  journeys,  attentive  listeners  and  observ- 
ers. Many  openly  adhered  to  the  new  leader,  and  all 
seemed  friendly.  But  it  is  natural  that  a  few  should 
be  jealous  for  their  old  master,  and  that  they  should 
prefer  the  downright  impetuosity  of  John  to  the  calmer 
and  gentler  method  of  Jesus.  They  would  naturally 
carry  back  to  the  solitary  man  in  prison  accounts  col- 
ored by  their  feelings.  To  all  this  shoidd  be  added 
that  depression  of  spirits  which  settles  upon  an  ener- 
getic nature  when  no  longer  connected  with  actual 
affairs.  Much  of  hope  and  courage  springs  from  sym- 
pathy and  contact  with  society.  We  grow  uncertain 
of  things  which  we  can  no  longer  see. 

Whatever  may  have  been  John's  mood  and  its 
causes,  it  is  certain  that  the  message  which  he  now 
sent  to  Jesus  implied  distressing  doubts,  which  Avere 
reprehended  by  the  closing  sentence  of  Jesus's  replj^. 
Blessed  is  he,  tvhosoever  shall  not  he  offended  in  me.  John 
was  in  danger  of  losing  faith  in  Jesus,  and  there  is 
an  almost  piteous  tone  of  entreaty  in  the  inquiry 
which  he  sent  his  disciples  to  make :  "  Art  thou  he 
that  should  come  ?  or  look  we  for  another  ?  "  Of 
what  use  would  be  an  asseveration  in  words,  or  an 
apologetic  explanation  ?  There  was  a  more  cogent 
reply.     It  would  seem  that  Jesus  delayed  his  answer, 


374  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

and  went  on  with  his  teaching  and  miracles  in  the 
presence  of  John's  waiting  disciples.  "  In  that  same 
hour  he  cured  many  of  their  infirmities  and  plagues, 
and  of  evil  spirits ;  and  unto  many  that  were  blind 
he  gave  sight."  It  is  j)ossible  that  these  messengers 
had  been  with  Jesus  at  Nain  and  beheld  the  rais- 
ing of  the  widow's  son,  since  he  mentions  the  raising 
of  the  dead  as  one  of  the  acts  of  power  which  they 
had  witnessed,  and  the  widow's  son  was  the  first  in- 
stance recorded.  During  his  ministry  only  three  cases 
of  this  kind  are  mentioned,  namely,  the  young  man  at 
Nain,  the  daughter  of  Jairus,  and  Lazarus,  the  brother 
of  Mary  and  Martha.  Yet  it  by  no  means  follows 
that  these  were  the  only  instances. 

These  wonderful  deeds,  enacted  before  their  eyes, 
were  the  answer  which  they  were  to  carry  back.  It 
implies  the  essential  nobility  of  John's  nature,  as  if  he 
only  needed  to  be  brought  into  sympathy  with  such 
living  work  to  recognize  the  Divine  power.  "  Go, .... 
tell  John  these  things  which  ye  have  seen  and  heard : 
how  that  the  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame 
walk,  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  the 
dead  are  raised  up,  and  the  poor  have  the  gospel 
preached  unto  them." 

It  was  not  the  rumor  of  wonderful  works  that 
John's  messengers  were  to  carry  back,  but  the  testi- 
mony of  what  they  themselves  had  "seen  and  heard." 
No  rumor  could  surpass  the  reality ;  none  of  all  the 
special  deeds  performed  would  be  likely  to  satisfy  the 
mind  of  John  so  much  as  the  greatest  marvel  of  all, 
—  that  one  had  appeared  to  whom  the  poor  were  an 
object  of  solicitude  !  Not  the  healing  of  the  sick,  nor 
even  the   raising  of  the  dead,  was  so  surprising  as 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  375 

that  a  person  clothed  with  Divine  power,  able  to  draw 
to  him  the  homage  of  the  rich  and  of  the  influential, 
should  address  himself  specially  to  the  poor.  Wonders 
and  miracles  might  be  counterfeited ;  but  a  sympathy 
with  suffering  and  helplessness  so  tender,  so  laborious, 
and  so  long  continued,  was  not  likely  to  be  simulated. 
Such  humanity  was  unworldly  and  divine. 

Ample  provision  was  made  among  the  Jews  for  the 
instruction  of  all  the  families  of  the  nation,  but  the 
great  disasters  which  had  befallen  that  people  had  in- 
terrupted the  action  of  this  benevolent  j)olity.  Sifted 
in  among  the  native  Jews,  especially  in  Galilee,  were 
thousands  of  foreigners,  many  of  them  extremely  ig- 
norant, debased,  and  poor,  who  were  objects  of  re- 
ligious prejudice  and  aversion.  The  Mosaic  institutes 
breathed  a  spirit  of  singular  humanity  toward  the 
poor.  No  nation  of  antiquity  can  show  such  benevo- 
lent enactments ;  nor  can  Christian  nations  boast  of 
any  advance  in  the  temper  or  polity  by  which  the 
evils  of  poverty  are  alleviated  and  the  weak  preserved 
from  the  oppression  of  the  strong.  It  was  promised 
to  the  ancient  Jew,  at  least  by  implication,  that,  if  he 
maintained  the  Divine  economy  established  by  Moses, 
"there  shall  be  no  poor  among  you"  (Deut.  xv.  4,  5). 
In  the  palmy  days  of  Israel  there  were  no  beggars ; 
and  there  is  no  Hebrew  word  for  begging.^     But  in 

'  Professor  T.  J.  Conant,  of  Brooklyn,  for  many  years  engaged  in  the 
translation  and  revision  of  the  Scriptures  for  the  American  Bible  Union, 
a  friend  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  many  valuable  suggestions  in  matters 
of  scholarly  research,  writes  me,  in  reference  to  this,  as  follows :  — 

"  There  is  no  word  in  Hebrew  that  speciBcally  means  to  beg.  Three 
verbs,  h^V  in  Kal  to  ask,  Piel  to  ask  importunately,  typa  to  seek,  and  Iffyi 
to  search  for,  to  seek,  are  strained  from  their  natural  sense  to  express  beg- 
ging, for  lack  of  a  proper  expression  of  it ;  and  this  in  only  four  passages. 

"The  first,  h^v;  (compare  Judges  v.  25,  'he  asked  water'),  Kal  form, 


376  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  TEE  CHRIST. 

the  distemper  of  those  later  times  all  regard  for  the 
poor  had  wellnigh  perished.  Jesus  renewed  the  old 
national  feeling  in  a  nobler  form.  Himself  poor,  the 
child  of  the  poor,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  welfare  of 
the  needy;  and  though  he  associated  freely  with  all 
ranks  and  classes  of  people,  his  sympathy  for  the  poor 
never  waned,  and  his  ministrations  continued  to  the 
very  end  to  be  chiefly  among  them. 

John's  disciples  depart.  The  great  excitable  and 
fickle  crowd  remain.  How  easily  they  had  let  go  of 
John  !  How  eagerly  they  had  taken  up  Jesus  !  How 
quickly  would  they  rush  after  the  next  novelty  !  Like 
the  tides,  this  changeable  people  were  always  coming 
and  going,  under  influences  which  they  could  neither 
control  nor  understand.  It  did  not  please  Jesus  to  see 
them  the  sport  of  every  fantastic  creation  that  could 
dazzle  them  with  pretentious  novelties. 

What  went  ye  out  into  the  wilderness  for  to  see  ? 
A  reed  shaJccn  tvith  the  loind?  It  was  as  if  he  had  said, 
Now  it  is  a  mountebank,  shrewd  and  shifty,  that  sends 
you  roaming  into  some  gathering-place,  hoping  for  de- 
liverance from  the  oppressor  at  the  hands  of  one  who 

is  used  in  Proverbs  xx.  4,  'shall  beg  in  harvest,'  —  properly,  sluill  ask  help ; 
Piel  (intensive),  Psalm  cix.  10,  'let  his  children  be  vagabonds  and  beg,'  — 
properly,  ask  imporlunatehj. 

"The  second,  i:/p3  (participle),  is  used  in  Psalm  xxxvii.  25,  'nor  his 
seed  begging  bread,'  —  properly,  seeking  bread,  as  it  is  translated  in  Lamen- 
tations i.  19,  '  they  sought  their  meat.' 

"  The  third,  t^l,  is  used  in  Psalm  cix.  10,  2d  member,  Eng.  V.,  '  let  them 
seek  (their  bread).'  Gesenius  needlessly  gives  it  (here  only)  the  sense 
to  hecj.  The  meaning  is,  let  them  seek  (help),  he  seekers,  far  from  their 
ruined  homes. 

"The  word  '  beggar,'  in  1  Samuel  ii.  8,  is  a  mistranslation  of  pox,  needy, 
poor. 

"  I  think  it  entirely  safe  to  say,  as  you  have  done,  that  '  there  is  no  He- 
brew word  for  begging.' " 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  377 

only  plays  on  your  credulity  for  his  own  benefit,  and 
is  himself  swayed  hither  and  thither  by  the  breath  of 
self-interest,  like  a  reed  quivering  in  the  wind ! 

Turning  to  others,  he  said :  But  what  went  ye  out 
for  to  see?  A  man  clothed  in  soft  raiment?  Did  you 
expect  deliverance  would  come  to  Israel  from  rich  and 
luxurious  men,  pleasure-loving  courtiers  ?  Look  for 
such  men  only  in  courts  and  mansions.  They  will 
never  task  themselves  for  this  people,  but  will  bask  in 
sumptuous  palaces. 

Turning  again  to  others,  Jesus  said :  But  what 
went  ye  out  for  to  see  ?  A  'prophet  ?  A  great  re- 
former, flaming  with  indignation  at  evil,  and  vehement 
in  rebuke  ?  John  was  indeed  a  prophet,  eminent  alcove 
the  great  brotherhood  of  former  days.  No  other 
prophet  was  ever  like  him;  and  yet  even  John  can 
never  bring  in  that  kingdom  which  God  has  promised 
to  his  people.  The  kingdom  of  the  spirit  is  not  phy- 
sical nor  forceful.  It  dwells  in  the  heart.  It  is  the 
empire  within  the  soul,  pure,  spontaneous,  benevolent. 
Even  the  least  member  of  this  kingdom  of  the  spirit 
is  greater  than  the  greatest  proj)het  of  the  old  and 
external  dispensation. 

This  was  the  language  of  criticism  and  rebuke.  It 
contrasted  the  eagerness  which  many  among  his  hear- 
ers had  shown  to  rush  after  any  sign  of  empire  that 
had  the  tokens  of  external  movement  and  force,  and 
the  disappointment  which  they  could  not  conceal  that 
Jesus  should,  with  all  his  wonderful  power,  do  noth- 
ing except  to  instruct  people  and  to  relieve  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  unfortunate.  If  this  is  all,  said  they,  if 
marvel  and  discourse  are  not  leading  on  to  organized 
revolt   and   to   victorious   onset,  what  is  the  use  of 


378  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

them  ?  Truth  and  purity  of  motive  and  self-denying 
kindness  may  be  all  very  well,  but  will  they  dispossess 
foreign  armies  and  reinstate  the  Jewish  rulers  ?  Thus 
the  real  excellence  of  the  new  kingdom  was  turned 
against  it  as  a  weakness. 

The  teaching  and  miracles  of  Jesus  were  doing  lit- 
tle good,  and  seemed  to  quicken  that  flital  tendency 
toAvard  pride  and  self-indulgence  which  had  already 
prevented  the  development  of  moral  sensibility.  It 
was  not  personal  but  political  changes  that  men 
wanted.  Neither  John  nor  Jesus  fed  their  insatiable 
ambition,  and  each  in  turn  was  rejected  on  a  mere 
pretence.  John  is  a  recluse,  abstinent,  rigorously  se- 
vere. He  is  possessed  by  the  demon  of  the  wilder- 
ness !  Jesus  dwells  among  his  people,  adopts  the 
social  customs  of  his  times,  disowns  all  pretentious 
fasting  and  all  acerb  morality.  He  eats  and  drinks 
like  other  men :  to-day  he  breaks  bread  among  the 
poor ;  to-morrow  some  ostentatious  rich  man  will  have 
him  at  his  table  ;  —  it  makes  no  difference.  A  couch 
or  the  hard  plank  of  a  ship,  the  banquet  or  the  crust 
of  bread,  are  alike  to  him.  But  this  universal  social 
sympathy  is  charged  against  him  by  his  censorious 
critics :  He  is  a  dissipated  fellow,  a  comj^anion  of 
grossly  wicked  men  !  For  John  the  Baptid  came  neither 
eating  hread  nor  drinking  wine;  and  ye  say,  He  hath  a 
devil.  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  eating  and  drinking ;  and 
ye  say,  Behold  a  gluttonous  man,  and  a  ivinelihher,  a  friend 
of  indjlicans  and  sinners  I 

To  such  unfriendly  thoughts  Jesus  replies  by  point- 
ing out  a  group  of  peevish  children  that  had  gath- 
ered in  the  public  square.  Their  companions  cry, 
"Let  us  play  funeral."      No,  they  will  not  ^\^y  at 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  379 

that ;  it  is  too  solemn.  "Well,  then,  play  wedding ! 
No,  they  do  not  like  pij^es  and  dancing !  Nothing 
will  suit  them.  The  severity  of  John  and  the  gentle- 
ness of  Jesus  were  alike  unpalatable  to  men  who 
wanted  riches,  power,  and  obsequious  flatteries.  This 
impenetrable  worldliness  aj)pears  to  have  affected  the 
spirits  of  Jesus  in  an  unusual  degree.  He  was  sad- 
dened that  so  little  of  promise  had  resulted  from  his 
labors. 

In  the  full  sovereignty  of  his  nature,  he  called  to 
judgment  the  cities  hi  which  he  had  wrought  the  most 
striking  miracles  in  the  greatest  numbers  with  the 
least  possible  efiects.  "Woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida,"  — 
it  was  a  soliloquy  probably,  low-voiced,  and  heard  only 
by  his  disciples,  —  "woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin !  for  if 
the  mighty  works  which  were  done  in  you  had  been 
done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon  [heathen  cities],  they  woidd 
have  repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes."  In 
this  solemn  hour,  Capernaum,  his  home  after  his  re- 
jection by  the  people  of  Nazareth,  rose  before  him 
as  guiltiest  of  all.  Nowhere  else  had  he  taught  so 
assiduously,  or  performed  so  many  beneficent  works. 
He  dwelt  there,  and  was  there  well  known.  Yet  in 
no  other  place  was  there  so  little  change  for  good. 
"Thou,  Capernaum,  which  art  exalted  unto  heaven, 
shalt  be  brought  down  to  hell ;  ....  it  shall  be  more 
tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom,  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, than  for  thee."  Jesus  did  not  undervalue  the 
guilt  of  the  cities  of  the  plain.  He  left  bestial  vices 
as  odious  as  the  moral  sense  of  the  world  had  ranked 
them.  But  he  raised  the  estimate  of  the  guilt  of 
selfish  and  sordid  sins.  Sodom  was  not  less,  but 
Capernaum  was  more,  guilty  than  men  judged.     The 


380  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

sentence  of  Jesus  does  not  change  the  emphasis  of 
condemnation,  but  its  relative  distribution. 

Throughout  this  scene  of  reproach,  and  the  follow- 
ing passages  of  conflict  with  the  cold  and  selfish  re- 
ligionists, the  character  of  Jesus  assumes  a  new  ap- 
pearance. It  loses  nothing  of  benevolence,  but  it 
reveals  how  terrible  benevolence  may  become  when 
arrayed  against  evil.  The  guilt  of  sin  is  that  it 
destroys  happiness  in  its  very  sources.  Regarding 
the  law  of  right  as  the  law  of  happiness,  the  viola- 
tion of  right  is  the  destruction  of  happiness.  A  dis- 
position of  disobedience  is  malign.  It  reaches  out 
against  universal  well-being.  Divine  benevolence,  as 
a  part  of  the  very  exercise  of  kindness,  sternly  re- 
sists every  active  malign  tendency.  In  a  pure  soul, 
indignation  at  evil  is  not  an  alternative  or  mere  ac- 
companiment of  benevolence,  but  is  benevolence  itself 
acting  for  the  preservation  of  happiness.  It  seems 
impossible  that  one  should  be  good,  and  not  abhor 
that  which  destroys  goodness. 

In  all  the  reproofs  of  Jesus  there  is  an  exaltation 
and  calmness  which  renders  them  more  terrible  than  if 
they  were  an  outburst  of  sudden  passion.  It  is  not 
angered  ambition,  but  repulsed  kindness,  that  speaks. 
There  is  sadness  in  the  severity.  The  very  denun- 
ciations seem  to  mourn. 

After  his  distress  had  given  itself  voice  in  those 
severe  words,  he  seems  to  have  let  go  the  trouble,  and 
to  have  arisen  in  prayer  to  the  bosom  of  his  God.  The 
gloom  is  breaking !  He  sees  an  infinite  wisdom  in  that 
love  which  hides  from  the  proud  and  vain  the  ineffable 
truths  of  religion,  and  which  reveals  them  to  the  humble 
and  the  heart-broken.     The  vision  of  God  brings  i^eace 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  381 

to  him.  He  turns  again  to  the  people,  every  cloud 
gone  from  his  face  and  the  sternness  from  his  words. 
Full  of  pity  and  of  tenderness,  in  sentences  that  have 
in  them  the  charm  of  music,  he  invites  the  troubled 
and  unhappy  around  him  to  that  rest  of  the  heart 
which  will  keep  in  perfect  peace  him  whose  soul  is 
stayed  on  God  :  — 

Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and 
I  tvill  give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn 
of  me;  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart :  and  ye  shall 
find  rest  unto  your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my 
hurden  is  light. 

John's  message  of  doubt  and  wavering  came  to  Jesus 
while  he  was  in  full  conflict  with  the  emissaries  from 
Jerusalem,  who  were  sowing  distrust,  and  who,  as  we 
shall  see,  had  even  stirred  up  his  own  family  connec- 
tions against  him.  The  whole  tone  of  Jesus's  reply, 
the  progression  of  thought,  is  that  of  one  thoroughly 
aroused  and  indignant  at  the  exhibitions  of  moral 
meanness  around  him.  His  words  were  warrior  words. 
Though  in  prison,  saddened,  and  about  to  perish,  John 
was  gently  but  faithfully  rebuked.  "  Blessed  is  he, 
whosoever  shall  not  be  offended  in  me."  If  even 
John  was  culpable,  how  much  more  the  malignant 
enemies  around  him  !  Still  more  the  cities  which  had 
been  the  focal  points  of  his  ministration !  Thus  step 
by  step  his  soul  manifests  its  noble  repugnance  to  evil, 
till  it  breaks  forth  in  prayer  before  God,  and  returns, 
full  of  pity  and  of  yearning,  to  beseech  once  more  the 
liberty  of  doing  good  to  ungrateful  enemies.  Noth- 
ing can  justify  the  royal  tone  of  Jesus  in  this  whole 
scene  but  the  reality  of  his  Divinity.  That  a  man 
should   make   himself  the   fountain   of  cleansing   in- 


382  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

fluence,  and  summon  all  his  fellows  to  be  healed  by 
his  spirit,  would  exhibit  an  arrogance  of  pride  which 
to  their  minds  could  be  palhated  only  on  the  supposi- 
tion of  insanity. 

His  family  connections  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
greatly  in  sympathy  with  Jesus  at  any  time.  We 
know  that  at  a  much  later  period  his  brethren  reject- 
ed his  claims  of  Messiahship.  Of  course  they  must 
have  watched  his  career,  and  listened  to  all  that  was 
said  of  him  by  those  to  whom  they  had  been  ac- 
customed to  look  for  right  opinions  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion. The  increased  activity  of  Jesus,  the  resolute 
front  which  he  opposed  to  the  constituted  teachers  of 
his  people,  the  increasing  opposition  which  he  stirred 
up,  the  visible  effect  of  all  this  upon  his  o^vn  spirit, 
the  loftiness  both  of  carriage  and  of  language  with 
which  he  confronted  his  opponents,  together  with  his 
frequent  retirements  and  his  deep  reveries,  suggested 
to  his  friends  the  notion  of  insanity.  Without  doubt 
this  was  at  first  a  hinted  criticism,  a  shaking  of  the 
head  and  a  whispering  of  one  with  another. 

His  life  must  have  seemed  strange,  if  they  looked 
upon  Jesus  without  faith  in  his  Divine  mission,  or  sym- 
pathy with  it,  and  applied  to  him  such  practical  rules 
as  regulated  their  own  conduct.  The  intensity  of  his 
spirit,  the  ajDparent  restlessness  which  compelled  him 
to  go  throughout  every  village  and  city,  "  preaching 
and  showing  the  glad  tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God," 
must  have  seemed  unaccountable.  Then,  his  company 
was  extraordinary.  His  twelve  disciples  were  now  his 
constant  attendants.  But  besides  these  a  singular 
band  of  women  went  with  him,  and  largely  provided 
for  his  support.     First  mentioned  is  Mary  Mngdalene, 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  383 

who,  whatever  doubts  may  rest  upon  her  history  or 
the  origin  of  her  name,  ckmg  to  Jesus  with  a  fidehty 
that  could  not  be  surpassed,  an  affection  which  seems 
to  have  grown  more  earnest  and  fearless  with  dan- 
ger, and  which,  during  his  crucifixion  and  after  his 
burial,  places  her  even  before  his  own  mother  in  in- 
tensity of  self-devotion.  Chusa,  the  wife  of  Herod's 
steward,  was  another ;  and  Susanna,  whose  name  only 
remains  to  us,  was  also  conspicuous.  But  it  is  said 
by  Luke  that  there  were  "many  others."  He  also 
states  that  "they  ministered  to  him  of  their  sub- 
stance." This  was  an  extraordinary  procession  for  a 
teacher  to  make.  His  kindred  felt  that  they  had  a 
right  to  interfere,  and  it  was  not  long  before  they 
had  the  opportunity.  Indeed,  there  seem  to  have 
been  two  separate  efforts  to  withdraw  him  to  the 
privacy  of  his  home,  —  or,  rather,  two  stages  of  the 
one  search  and  attempted  interference.  On  one  oc- 
casion the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  rose  to  an  uncon- 
trollable height.  Jesus  appears  to  have  been  utterly 
swallowed  up  by  the  crowd.  He  and  his  disciples 
"  could  not  so  much  as  eat  bread."  Then  it  was  that 
his  friends,  when  they  heard  of  it,  "  went  out  to  lay 
hands  upon  him ;  for  they  said,  He  is  beside  himself" 

But  the  work  went  on.  The  Pharisees  beheld  his 
growing  power  with  the  people,  especially  after  his 
mastery  of  a  case  of  demoniacal  possession  of  a  pecu- 
liarly malignant  and  obstinate  character.  The  easy  res- 
toration of  the  victim  filled  the  multitude,  even  though 
they  had  almost  grown  familiar  with  his  miracles  of 
mercy,  with  wonder  and  amazement.  They  cried  out 
in  spontaneous  enthusiasm,  "Is  not  this  the  son  of 
David  ? "     By  that  title  was  the  long-desired  Messiah 


384  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

familiarly  known.  This  homage  of  the  people  stirred 
the  Scribes.  Taking  hint  from  the  impression  of  his 
friends  that  he  was  insane,  they  added  to  the  charge 
that  it  was  an  insanity  of  demoniacal  possession ! 
That  he  cast  out  demons  could  not  be  denied ;  but 
they  said  that  did  not  argue  his  Divinity,  for  he  was 
himself  a  dupe  or  an  accomplice,  working  under  the 
power  conferred  by  Satan  -,  in  short,  a  magician,  a  nec- 
romancer, one  who  had  made  a  league  with  the  devil ! 

The  emissaries  from  Jerusalem  and  their  confeder- 
ates in  Galilee  were  blind  to  all  the  excellences  of 
Jesus.  If  he  was  to  thrive  outside  of  their  party,  and 
raise  up  an  influence  antagonistic  to  it,  then,  the  better 
he  was,  the  more  dangerous  to  them.  How  unscrupu- 
lous and  malignant  their  conversation  became  is  re- 
vealed by  the  epithets  employed  :  he  was  a  drunkard ; 
he  was  a  glutton ;  he  was  a  companion  of  knaves 
and  courtesans ;  he  was  a  sabbath-breaker,  a  blas- 
phemer, a  charlatan,  a  necromancer,  an  unclean  fel- 
low. (Mark  iii.  30.)  His  power  could  not  be  gain- 
said ;  but  its  moral  significance  might  be  blurred, 
nay,  it  might  be  made  to  witness  against  him,  if 
they  coukl  persuade  the  people  that  the  devil  sent 
him  among  them,  and  that  under  the  guise  of  kind- 
ness he  was  really  weaving  infernal  snares  for  their 
easy  credulity ! 

The  reply  of  Jesus  to  this  last  aspersion  was  con- 
clusive, if  judged  from  their  point  of  view.  "  You 
believe  that  Satan  is  carrying  forward  his  work  by  me. 
"Would  he  begin,  then,  by  acting  against  himself? 
Will  Beelzebub  cast  out  Beelzebub  ?  Satan  fight 
Satan  ?  Is  not  this  a  house  divided  against  itself,  and 
sure  to  faU  ?     But  why  charge  me  with  acting  from 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  385 

infernal  power,  when  you  believe  that  evil  spirits  are 
cast  out  by  your  own  disciples  and  by  lawful  methods  ? 
When  your  pupils  employ  the  exorcisms  which  you 
prescribe,  and  men  are  relieved,  do  you  admit  that  it 
was  the  devil  that  wrought  with  them?  On  the  con- 
trary, you  believe  it  to  be  a  Divine  power  that  helps 
your  children.  Their  example  condemns  your  argu- 
ments against  me." 

If  the  carefulness  of  the  Lord's  reply  seems  strange, 
it  is  only  because  the  exceeding  gravity  and  danger- 
ousness  of  this  attack  upon  him  is  not  appreciated. 
Beelzebub  was  a  heathen  god,  and  to  charge  Jesus 
with  acting  as  his  emissary  was  to  suggest  the  most 
insidious  form  of  idolatry.  To  the  common  people 
Jesus  was  the  very  model  of  a  Jew.  He  revived  and 
represented  the  heroic  national  character.  His  whole 
career  a23pealed  to  the  patriotic  element.  His  use  of 
their  Scriptures,  his  teaching  in  their  synagogues,  his 
conformity  to  all  Jewish  rites  and  usages  in  worship, 
the  historical  basis  of  his  teachings,  and  the  very  at- 
tempt to  bring  back  the  old  Jewish  life  by  reforming 
the  abuses  of  the  school  of  the  Pharisee,  all  gave  to 
him  a  high  repute  with  the  common  people  as  a  rep- 
resentative national  man  with  the  stamjD  of  the  old 
prophets. 

If  his  enemies  could  destroy  this  impression,  and 
excite  a  suspicion  that,  after  all,  he  was  in  sympathy 
with  foreign  nations  and  was  really  an  emissary  of  an 
idolatrous  system,  they  would  easily  destroy  his  in- 
fluence. For  on  no  other  point  was  the  Jewish  mind 
so  inflammable  as  against  idolatrous  foreign  influences. 
Beelzebub  was  the  chief  of  foreign  heathen  deities. 
To  charge  Jesus  with  acting  under  his  inspiration  was 

25 


386  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

an  appeal  to  the  national  fanaticism.  The  vigor  of 
Christ's  reply  manifests  his  sense  of  the  danger  of 
snch  an  imputation,  and  explains  also  the  solemn  and 
judicial  severity  with  which  he  immediately  turned 
upon  his  assailants.  For  the  lines  were  drawn.  All 
hope  of  accommodation  was  past.  Between  him  and 
the  Pharisees  the  gulf  had  been  opened  that  could  never 
be  closed.  Hitherto  he  had  entered  into  controversy 
with  them  as  a  Rabbi  would  dispute  with  any  one  in 
his  school  who  dissented  from  his  teaching.  In  his 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  he  had  clearly  taken  ground 
against  the  whole  ethics  and  religious  philosophy  of 
this  school.  But  now  the  hour  had  come  when  he 
distinctly  assailed  them  as  a  corrupt  party.  There 
could  be  no  more  friendliness  between  them.  No  one 
could  be  on  both  sides,  or  be  indifferent.  All  must 
choose.  Pointing  to  his  antagonists,  he  declared,  "  He 
that  is  not  with  me  is  against  me.  He  that  gathereth 
not  with  me  scattereth  abroad."  He  now  asserts  his 
Divinity  as  he  had  never  done  before,  not  by  assum- 
ing to  himself  Divine  titles,  but  by  identifying  their 
resistance  to  him  as  a  direct  and  conscious  resistance 
to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  scene  at  this  point  is  extraordinary.  Jesus  had 
hitherto  stood  upon  the  defensive.  But  there  was 
something  in  the  spirit  of  his  antagonists  which  roused 
in  him  the  latent  royalty  to  a  most  august  disclosure. 
He  no  longer  explains  or  defends.  He  brings  home  to 
the  conspiring  Pharisees  the  terrible  charge  of  blas- 
phemy. He  expressly  excludes  the  idea  that  this  was 
done  simply  because  they  had  opposed  him.  Whoso- 
ever speaJccth  a  ivord  agahist  the  Son  of  Man,  it  shall  be  for- 
given him.     Jesus  accepted  his  place  among  men,  and 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  387 

did  not  demand  any  exemption  from  the  criticisms 
and  argmnents  with  which  men  contested  all  the  phi- 
losophies or  religious  teachings  of  the  Rabbis.  He  did 
not  hold  his  antagonists  guilty  because  they  had  op- 
posed his  claims  or  his  doctrines.  It  was  their  own 
highest  nature,  in  its  state  of  Divine  illumination,  that 
they  had  deliberately  violated.  His  works  and  his 
expositions  had  not  failed ;  there  was  among  these 
men  an  hour  of  full  conviction  that  this  work  and 
this  doctrine  was  of  God.  But  pride  and  malign  sel- 
fishness rose  up  against  the  light.  For  the  sake  of 
sinister  interests,  they  dishonored  the  noblest  intu- 
itions of  their  souls. 

There  are  hours  in  which  men  are  lifted  out  of  the 
dominion  of  sensuous  fact,  and  come  up  into  the  full 
blaze  of  spiritual  truths.  They  are  consciously  in  the 
very  presence  of  God.  The  Divine  influence  is  so  per- 
sonal and  pervasive,  that  in  their  own  consciousness 
they  think,  feel,  and  will,  as  it  were,  face  to  face  with 
God.  These  are  the  hours  of  the  soul's  sovereignty, 
and  its  choices  are  final,  since  they  are  made  when 
every  advantage  is  concentrated  ujoon  them.  If  they 
are  right,  they  are  eternally  right  j  if  wrong,  they  are 
wrong  forever. 

In  such  a  supreme  mood  the  Pharisees  had  not  only 
dishonored  their  own  luminous  convictions  of  the 
truth,  but,  transported  with  the  anger  of  mortified 
vanity,  had  poured  contempt  and  ridicule  upon  them. 
The  sentence  of  Mark  is  very  significant,  — "  Because 
they  said,  He  hath  an  unclean  spirit."  What  unclean 
spirit  was  meant,  is  shown  by  Matthew  :  "  This  fellow 
doth  not  cast  out  devils  but  by  Beelzebub."  Beelze- 
bub was  to  the  Jews  the  heathen  god  of  nastiness, 


388  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

god  of  the  dunghill,  of  universal  excrement !  ^  The 
vulgarity  of  the  abuse  must  be  left  to  the  imagi- 
nation. 

Affairs  had  reached  a  crisis.  It  is  well,  therefore,  at 
this  point,  to  look  somewhat  closely  into  the  precise 
relations  subsisting  between  the  party  of  the  Temple, 
the  common  people,  and  Jesus. 

The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  were  neither  better  nor 
worse  than  men  usually  are  who  hold  power  in  their 
hands,  and  are  determined,  at  all  hazards,  to  main- 
tain it.  If  Jesus  could  have  been  made  to  work  un- 
der their  general  direction,  and  so  to  contribute  to  the 
stability  of  the  Temple  influence,  they  would  have 
suffered  him  to  utter  almost  any  sentiment,  and  to 
execute  rigorous  popular  reformations.  Every  word 
and  every  act  was  scrutinized  from  one  point  of  view, 
—  its  relations  to  the  influence  of  the  dominant 
school. 

In  the  progressive  conflict  with  Jesus,  which  ended 
with  his  death,  the  Scribes  acted  within  the  familiar 

^  See  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary  (American  edition,  Hurd  and  Houghton), 
Art.  "  Beelzebul." 

Moreover,  on  this  point  Professor  Conant  writes ;  "  To  the  heathen 
themselves  Beelzebub  was  not  the  '  god  of  nastiness,'  but  a  very  respectable 
sort  of  a  divinity,  with  an  honorable  vocation,  according  to  their  notions. 

'■'■  Beelzebub  (313T  '7i''3),  with  final  5,  occurs  only  once,  in  2  Kings  i.  2, 
as  a  god  of  the  Philistines  at  Ekron,  to  whom  Ahaziah  sent  messengers  to 
inquire  whether  he  should  recover  from  his  disease.  He  was  then,  it  seems, 
a  god  of  good  repute  even  in  Israel. 

"  From  the  etymology,  Gesenius  explains  the  name  as  'fty-Baal,  fly- 
destroyer,  like  the  Zds  'ATro/xutoy  of  Elis,  ....  and  the  Mi/lagrus  deus  of 
the  Romans.'  Fiirst,  under  D-1DT,  compares  the  'epithets  of  Hercules, 
InoKTovos  (vermin-killer)  and  Kopponiuiv  (locust-killer).' 

"  The  Jews,  with  their  propensity  to  sarcastic  punning,  pronounced  the 
name  Beelzebul  (S31  Si^S),  'god  of  the  dunghill,'  dunghill-god. 

"  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  view  you  give  in  the  text 
is  the  true  one." 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  CONFLICT.  389 

sphere  of  ordinary  political  immorality.  They  were  not 
monsters,  but  simply  unscrupulous  politicians.  At  first 
they  contented  themselves  with  observing  Jesus,  and 
would  evidently  have  been  willing  to  conciliate,  had  a 
chance  been  given  them.  They  then  followed  him, 
watching  for  some  mistake  which  would  bring  down  on 
him  the  grasp  of  a  jealous  foreign  government.  This 
was  by  far  the  most  poUtic  method  of  dealing  with 
him.  A  dangerous  man  would  thus  be  removed  by  an 
odious  foreign  despotism,  without  prejudice  to  the  Jew- 
ish rulers.  But  Jesus  was  fully  conscious  of  this  peril. 
So  cautious  was  he  in  discourse,  that  from  the  records 
of  his  teaching  one  would  scarcely  know  that  there 
was  an  mtrusive  government  in  Palestine.  He  used 
his  authority  to  keep  down  popular  excitement ;  and 
when  the  enthusiasm  could  not  be  controlled,  he 
frequently  withdrew  from  sight,  and  sometimes  hid 
himself  absolutely.  The  wisdom  of  his  course  Avas 
justified.  The  Roman  officials,  after  a  while,  seem  to 
have  dismissed  his  movements  from  their  thoughts; 
and  even  at  the  crisis  of  his  death  they  appear  to 
have  cared  but  little  for  the  matter,  and  to  have 
been  pushed  on  by  the  resolute  fury  of  the  Jewish 
leaders. 

If  the  Temple  party  could  not  check  the  career  of 
Jesus  by  direct  political  interference,  the  next  obvi- 
ous step  of  policy  would  be  to  embroil  him  with  his 
own  countrymen.  This  would  seem  not  difficult.  The 
Jewish  people  were  inordinately  sensitive  to  secta- 
rian and  national  prejudices.  It  seemed  likely  that 
a  bold  reformer  like  Jesus  would  first  or  last  strike 
some  blow  that  would  rouse  up  the  whole  wrath  of 
a  bigoted  people,  and  that  he  would  be  sacrificed  in 


390  ^^^  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

some  popular  tumult.  Tliis  line  of  policy  ^vas  skil- 
fully followed  by  them.  It  was  not  wise  to  shock 
the  enthusiasm  of  the  people,  or  to  stand  cold  and 
unmoved  amid  so  much  pojDular  feeling.  It  was 
better  to  go  wdth  the  crowd  as  friends,  but  as  con- 
servative friends.  They  listened,  but  in  a  gentle  and 
resjDCctful  way  sought  to  entangle  him  in  his  teach- 
ings. The  ill  success  of  this  course  little  by  little 
increased  their  zeal.  But  they  were  politic.  They 
could  not  break  with  Jesus  so  long  as  the  mass  of 
the  people  were  with  him.  They  therefore  still  main- 
tained outward  amicable  relations,  but  watched  and 
waited,  whispering,  suggesting,  criticising ;  —  yet  all 
in  vain.  The  current  would  not  be  turned  by  these 
puffs  of  wind  that  ran  across  its  surface. 

Jesus  seems  to  have  been  perfectly  aw^are  of  all 
this,  and  of  the  dangers  which  threatened.  His  tran- 
quil avoidance  of  their  snares  disclosed  how  skilful 
may  be  the  highest  moral  endowments.  It  was  diffi- 
cult to  oppose  the  whole  religious  teaching  of  his 
times  without  appearing  to  set  aside  the  Jewish  fliith, 
and  bringing  upon  himself  the  charge  of  infidelity,  — 
always  a  facile  and  effective  weapon.  It  was  diffi- 
cult to  resist  the  authority  of  the  representative  men 
of  his  nation,  without  violating  the  fanatical  sense  of 
patriotism  among  the  people.  The  consciousness  of 
such  peril  w^ould  render  a  weak  nature  cautious,  would 
limit  his  sphere  of  remark,  and  enfeeble  his  criti- 
cisms of  evil.  Nothing  is  more  striking  than  the 
attitude  of  Jesus  in  the  face  of  this  danger.  His 
teachings  did  not  flag.  His  words  became  more  pow- 
erful. The  sphere  of  topics  every  day  enlarged.  Like 
a  skilful  surgeon,  confident  of  his  hand,  he  i^lunged 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  CONFLICT.  391 

the  probe  down,  amid  nerves  and  arteries,  with  un- 
failing and  unsparing  fidehty.  At  times  his  adver- 
saries could  not  forbear  admiration  of  his  tact  and 
skin.  He  never  struck  wrong,  nor  ever  missed  a 
stroke.  They  beheld  him  every  day  less  in  peril  of 
the  court,  less  likely  to  lose  his  hold  upon  the  com- 
mon people,  and  more  clearly  endangering  their  own 
"  name  and  place." 

Tt  was  at  this  point  of  affairs  that  the  cry  was  first 
heard,  Is  not  this  the  son  of  David?  By  that  jDhrase 
was  meant  Messiahship  !  The  spark  had  fallen.  The 
fire  was  kindled.  The  Scribes  seemed  thrown  off 
their  guard  by  the  extremity  of  danger.  Then  it 
was,  as  we  have  seen,  that  they  blindly  charged  him 
with  being  a  minion  of  infernal  influences,  the  evil 
victim  of  a  foreign  god  of  filthy  and  detestable  attri- 
butes. And  it  was  to  this  open  declaration  of  war 
that  Jesus  opposed  as  openly  the  terrific  denuncia- 
tions which  consigned  them  to  a  doom  not  to  be 
reversed  in  this  world  nor  in  the  world  to  come. 

The  Scribes  at  once  saw  their  blunder.  They  had 
not  carried  the  people  with  them.  They  had  aroused 
in  Jesus  a  spirit  of  sovereignty  before  which  they 
quailed.  They  had  thrown  the  javelin,  but  it  had 
missed,  and  they  stood  disarmed. 

They  then  attempted  to  recover  their  position.  It 
is  quite  likely  that  the  Scribes,  who  had  led  the  onset, 
gave  place  to  others,  who  put  on  a  face  of  kindness  as  a 
mask  to  their  real  feelings.  They  came  to  him  with  an 
affectation  of  reasonableness  and  of  devotion  :  —  Mas- 
ter, we  wish  that  we  might  only  see  a  sign  from  thee. 
He  was  not  to  be  deceived  by  this  sudden  complai- 
sance.    With  even  increasing  elevation  of  spirit  and 


392  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

of  manner  he  denounced  them  as  an  "evil  and  adul- 
terous generation."  No  sign  should  be  wrought  for 
their  purposes.  But  a  sign  they  should  have.  What 
Jonah  was  to  Nineveh,  that  should  the  Son  of  Man 
be  to  Jerusalem.  So  far  from  softening  his  words  or 
abating  his  authority  he  takes  a  bolder  step,  and  de- 
clares himself  superior  to  Jonah,  an  eminent  prophet, 
and  to  Solomon,  the  most  renowned  philosopher  and 
the  most  brilliant  king  of  the  Hebrew  race.  That 
such  arrogation  of  rank  did  not  offend  the  people  is 
a  testimony  to  the  hold  which  Jesus  had  gained  up- 
on their  veneration. 

This  plausible  attempt  of  the  Pharisees  to  return  to 
amicable  relations  with  him  did  not  for  a  moment  im- 
pose upon  Jesus.  He  signified  his  judgment  of  the 
value  of  their  mood  by  a  parable,  which,  however,  did 
not  expend  its  force  upon  them,  but,  after  the  method  of 
the  prophecies,  had  a  kind  of  moral  ricochet  and  struck 
successive  periods.  Their  pretended  reformations  were 
but  a  getting  ready  for  renewed  wickedness. 

When  the  unclean  spirit  is  gone  out  of  a  man,  he  walJceth 
through  dry  'places,  seeldng  rest,  and  findeth  none.  Then  he 
saith,  I  ivill  return  into  my  house  from  ivhence  I  came  out ; 
and  tvhen  he  is  come,  he  findeth  it  empty,  swept,  and  garnished. 
Then  goeth  he,  and  taJceth  with  himself  seven  other  spii^^s 
more  tvicked  than  himself,  and  they  enter  in  and  dwell  there : 
and  the  last  state  of  that  man  is  tvorse  than  the  first.  Even 
so  shall  it  he  also  unto  this  ivichcd  generation. 

In  his  adversaries,  the  discourses  of  Jesus  produced 
anger,  and  at  times  rage.  The  people  generally  felt 
admiration  and  enthusiasm  for  them,  some  being  ca- 
pable of  appreciating  their  spiritual  excellence  and 
entering  profoundly  into  sympathy  with  him.     Thus, 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  393 

while  he  was  unfolding  the  truth,  a  woman  in  the 
crowd,  quite  borne  away  by  the  admirableness  of 
his  teaching,  cried  out  with  a  true  mother's  feeling, 
"  Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bare  thee,  and  the  paps 
which  thou  hast  sucked ! "  This  was  the  very  pride  of 
motherhood  breaking  into  rapture  of  worship.  It  is 
not  likely  that  she  knew  Mary.  There  certainly  is 
no  unconscious  blessing  pronounced  upon  the  Virgin 
Mother;  it  was  upon  Christ  that  her  heart  rested. 
She  struck  an  unimagined  chord  in  the  heart  of  Jesus. 
There  is  sadness  in  his  reply,  Yea,  rather,  Messed  are  ilwj 
that  hear  the  word  of  God,  and  keep  it.  And  reason  there 
was  for  this  sadness.  At  that  very  moment  his  mother, 
with  other  members  of  the  family,  were  hovering  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  excessive  crowd,  seeking  him.  By 
Mark  (iii.  20,  21,  31-35)  we  see  what  her  errand  was. 
Driven  by  maternal  solicitude,  she  had  become  more 
anxious  for  his  personal  safety  than  for  the  develop- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Her  love  for  him  as 
her  own  son  was  stronger  than  her  love  for  him  as  the 
Son  of  God.  She  might  not  have  believed  that  he  was 
"beside  himself;"  she  might  naturally  have  felt  that 
by  excessive  zeal  he  was  putting  his  life  in  peril.  Fol- 
lowing in  the  wake  of  the  crowd,  she  would  gather  up 
into  her  anxious  heart  all  the  angry  ■  speeches  and 
significant  threats  of  his  enemies.  Why  should  we 
imagine  that  Mary  was  made  perfect  without  suffering, 
without  mistakes,  without  that  training  which  every 
one  of  the  disciples  passed  through,  and  without  need 
of  those  tender  rebukes  from  the  Master  which  all 
experienced  ?  If  even  the  unflinching  and  sturdy 
John  faltered,  can  we  wonder  that  a  mother  should 
dread  the  storm  which  she  saw  gathering  around  her 
beloved  son  ? 


394  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

It  was  while  the  cry  of  sympathy  from  a  nameless 
woman  hi  the  crowd  was  in  his  ear,  that  word  was 
brought  to  Jesus, "  Behold  thy  mother  and  thy  brethren 
stand  without,  desiring  to  speak  with  thee."  This  is 
the  sequel  of  that  previous  statement,  "  When  his 
friends  (kinsmen)  heard  of  it,  they  went  out  to  lay 
hold  of  him ;  for  they  said.  He  is  beside  himself." 

Were  it  not  for  this  history,  it  would  be  hard  to 
redeem  the  reply  of  Jesus  to  the  messenger  of  his 
mother  from  the  imputation  of  severity,  bordering  on 
harshness.  Who  is  my  mother  ?  and  tvho  are  my  brethren  ? 
Is  this  the  language  of  a  child's  love,  in  whose  ear  his 
mother's  name  is  music  ?  Is  this  the  honored  recep- 
tion, before  all  the  people,  which  a  mother  had  a  right 
to  expect  from  such  a  son  ? 

Then  it  was  that  he  seems  to  have  drawn  himself  up 
and  looked  round  upon  the  crowd  with  an  eye  of  love 
veiled  by  sorrow.  There  must  have  been  something 
striking  in  his  manner  of  speaking,  that  should  lead 
the  Evangelists  always  to  describe  his  personal  ap- 
pearance in  that  act.  They  were  not  anatomists,  nor 
close  students  of  details;  they  mentioned  that  which 
struck  them  forcibly.  It  was  not  a  glance,  a  flash,  but 
a  long  and  piercing  gaze :  "  he  looked  round  about  on 
them  which  sat  about  him " ;  and  then,  stretching 
forth  his  hand  toward  his  disciples,  he  said,  "  Behold 
my  mother  and  my  brethren !  Whosoever  shall  do 
the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  the  same 
is  my  brother,  and  my  sister,  and  my  mother ! "  ^ 

'  President  Woolsey,  of  Yale  College,  holds  the  following  language  :  — 

"  However  we  explain  INIary's  i)articipation  in  the  design  of  her  kinsmen, 

she  is  included  in  what  is  a  virtual  censure  on  the  part  of  our  Lord.     He 

neither  goes  out  to  meet  her  and  her  companions,  nor  admits  them  into  his 

presence.      He  exclaims  that  his  nearest  of  kin  arc  the  children  of  God, 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  395 

"While  this  was  unquestionably  a  rebuke  to  his 
mother  and  brethren  for  want  of  moral  sympathy  with 
him,  it  presents  an  admirable  illustration  of  the  way 
in  which  Jesus  looked  upon  all  the  social  relationships 
of  life.  As  much  in  domestic  as  in  religious  matters 
the  exterior  is  but  the  veil,  the  interior  is  the  sub- 
stance and  reality.  As  manhood  is  not  made  up  by 
the  members  of  the  body,  but  by  the  soul,  so  re- 
lationship is  not  simply  by  blood,  but  by  affinities  of 
character.  The  household  which  is  grouped  around 
natural  parents,  with  all  its  blessedness,  does  not  limit 
within  itself  one's  real  kindred.  All  that  are  good 
belong  to  each  other.  All,  in  every  nation,  who  call 
God  Father,  have  a  right  to  call  each  other  brother, 
sister,  mother !  Thus  around  the  visible  home  there 
extends  an  invisible  household  of  the  heart,  and  men 
of  faith  and  aspiration  are  rich  in  noble  relationships. 

This  scene  between  Jesus  and  his  mother  was  a 
mere  episode  in  the  sharp  conflict  which,  under  one 
form  and  another,  was  going  on  between  Jesus  and  the 
emissaries  from  the  Temple,  together  with  their  con- 
federates in  the  provinces.  But  it  was  not  all  an  open 
conflict.  It  would  seem  as  if,  while  some  plied  him 
with  opposition,  others  tried  the  arts  of  kindness,  and 
the  seductions  of  hospitality.      For  these  invitations 

and  asks,  '  Who  is  my  mother  and  my  brethren  ? '  It  is  thus  remarkable 
that  in  the  only  two  instances,  until  the  crucifixion,  where  Mary  figures  in 
the  Gospel,  —  the  marriage  at  Cana  and  the  passage  before  us,  —  she  ap- 
pears in  order  to  be  reproved  by  the  Saviour,  and  to  bo  placed,  as  far  as 
the  mere  matPrnal  relation  is  concerned,  below  obedient  servants  of  God. 
These  passages  must  be  regarded  as  protests  laid  up  in  store  against  the 
heathenish  eminence  which  the  Roman  Church  assigns  to  IMary,  and  espe- 
cially against  that  newly  established  dogma,  of  her  being  without  sin  from 
her  birth,  which  they  so  signally  contradict."  —  Reliriion  of  the  Present  and 
oj  the  Future,  p.  4G.     New  York  :  Charles  Scribner  &  Co.     1871. 


396  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

which  brought  him  to  feasts  in  the  houses  of  dis- 
tinguished Pharisees,  as  the  whole  carriage  of  Jesus 
showed,  were  not  always  acts  of  simple  kindness.  No 
doubt  they  were  inspired  to  some  extent  by  curiosity, 
mingled  with  vanity  at  having  possession  of  one 
who  was  stirring  the  whole  community.  But  they 
evidently  had  in  them  also  an  element  of  seduction. 
He  might  be  flattered  by  attentions.  He  might  be 
softened  by  social  blandishments.  He  might,  in  the 
confidence  of  honorable  hospitality,  be  thrown  off  his 
guard  and  led  to  incautious  speeches,  by  which  after- 
wards he  might  be  entangled. 

Soon  after  this  interview  with  his  mother,  a  Pharisee 
urged  him  to  dine.  No  sooner  had  they  sat  down 
than  the  latent  design  of  this  hospitality  began  to 
appear.  Jesus  had  neglected  to  wash  his  hands  offi- 
cially, after  the  custom  of  the  strict  among  the  Jews, 
and  he  was  at  once  questioned  about  it.  It  seems  that 
there  was  present  a  large  company  of  lawyers  and 
doctors  of  the  law,  and  that  all  were  sharpened  for 
conflict,  and  this  will  sufficiently  account  for  the 
character  of  the  most  extraordinary  after-dinner  speech 
that  was  ever  recorded.  Jesus  was  not  for  a  moment 
deceived  by  their  pretensions  and  formal  courtesies. 
He  knew  what  their  politeness  meant.  He  replied  to 
the  inward  reality,  and  not  to  the  outward  seeming. 
It  was  a  fearful  analysis  and  exposure  of  the  hollow- 
heartedness  of  the  men  who  were  seeking  his  downfall. 

The  manner  of  this  speech  seems  to  have  been  thus : 
One  after  another  would  question  him,  and  upon  his 
replies  still  other  criticisms  would  be  made,  followed 
again  by  taunts  and  contemptuous  questions.  Luke 
gives  us  an  insight  into  the  method  and  spirit  of  this 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  CONFLICT.  397 

remarkable  dialogue:  "As  he  said  these  things  unto 
them,  the  Scribes  and  the  Pharisees  began  to  urge  him 
vehemently,  and  to  provoke  him  to  speak  of  many 
things ;  laying  wait  for  him,  and  seeking  to  catch 
something  out  of  his  mouth,  that  they  might  accuse 
him."  The  speech  as  given  in  the  text  may  be  regard- 
ed as  a  condensed  record  of  the  substance  of  his 
replies,  the  interpolated  questions  and  disputatious 
passages  being  left  out.  It  is  this  interlocutory  char- 
acter of  the  Lord's  discourses,  both  here  and  elsewhere, 
that  must  supply  us  with  a  clew  to  the  succession  of 
topics,  which  otherwise  will  seem  forced. 

And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  JSfow  do  ye  Pharisees  maJce 
clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  the  platter  ;  hid  your  inward 
part  is  full  of  ravening  and  luicJcedness.  Ye  fools,  did  not 
he  that  made  that  ivhich  is  tviihout  maJce  that  which  is  uithin 
also  ?  But  rather  give  alms  of  such  things  as  ye  have;  and, 
behold,  all  things  are  clean  unto  you.  But  ivoe  unto  you, 
Pharisees  !  for  ye  tithe  mint  and  rue  and  all  manner  of 
herbs,  and  pass  over  judgment  and  the  love  of  God :  these 
ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone.  Woe 
unto  you,  Pharisees !  for  ye  love  the  uppermost  seats  in  the 
synagogues,  and  greetings  in  the  markets.  Woe  unto  you, 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  I  for  ye  are  as  graves  ivhich 
appear  not,  and  the  men  that  ivalJc  over  them  are  not  aivare 
of  them.  Then  anstvered  one  of  the  laivyers,  and  said  unto 
Mm,  Master,  thus  saying  thou  reproachest  us  also.  And  he 
said.  Woe  unto  you  also,  ye  lavycrs^ !  for  ye  lade  men  uith 
burdens  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  ye  yourselves  touch  not  the 
burdens  ivith  one  of  your  fingers.  Woe  unto  you  !  for  ye 
build  the  sepulchres  of  the  prophets,  and  your  fathers  killed 
them.  Truly  ye  bear  uitncss  that  ye  allow  the  deeds  of  your 
fathers  :  for  they  indeed  killed  them,  and  ye  build  their  sepul- 


398  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

chres.  Therefore  also  said  the  tvisdom  of  God,  I  tvill  send 
them  prophets  and  apostles,  and  some  of  them  they  shall  slay 
and  persecute :  that  the  hlood  of  all  the  prophets,  lohich  ivas 
shed  from  the  foundation  of  the  tvorld,  may  he  required  of 
this  generation,  from  the  hlood  of  Mel  unto  the  hlood  of 
Zacharias,  whicti  perished  hetween  the  altar  and  the  temple : 
verily  I  say  unto  you.  It  shall  he  required  of  this  generation. 
Woe  unto  you,  lawyers  !  for  ye  have  taken  away  the  hey  of 
Jcnou'lcdge :  ye  entered  not  in  yourselves,  and  them  that  tvere 
entering  in  ye  hindered. 

The  kindled  flame  was  to  be  noiirislied  by  new 
fuel  every  day.  The  courage  and  boldness  of  Jesus 
were  equalled  only  by  the  bitterness  and  cunning  of 
the  Scribes.  He  knew  the  issue.  "  I  am  come  to  send 
fire  on  the  earth,  and  what  will  I,  if  it  be  already 
kindled?" 


AROUND  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE.  399 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

AROUND  THE   SEA  OF  GALILEE. 

The  discourses  of  Jesus  grew  deeper  and  richer 
from  the  beginning  of  his  ministry  to  the  end.  But 
the  transitions  were  never  formal  or  abrupt.  Nor  can 
we  anywhere  lay  our  finger  upon  a  precise  moment  or 
occasion  when  the  deepening  or  widening  took  place. 
His  teaching  was  like  the  flow  of  a  river,  whose  depth 
and  breadth  continually  increase,  but  nowhere  sud- 
denly. From  the  first  he  had  preached  the  Idngdom  of 
heaven,  but  at  this  time  he  seems  to  have  made  that 
theme  the  special  subject  of  discourse.  Indeed,  just 
before  he  sent  out  his  twelve  disciples  to  teach,  there 
was  a  crisis  in  his  ministry  and  a  change  in  his  style 
which  proceeded  from  profound  reasons  that  deserve 
careful  consideration. 

Whatever  spiritual  benefit  had  been  derived  by 
single  persons  from  his  ministry,  it  was  plain  that  in 
general  his  teaching  had  fallen  only  upon  the  outward 
ear,  and  that  his  beneficent  works  had  stirred  up  the 
worldly  side  of  men  more  than  the  spiritual.  They 
were  glad  to  have  their  sicknesses  healed,  to  know 
that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  (interpreted  according 
to  Jewish  expectations)  was  advancing.  His  family 
friends  were  plying  him  with  prudential  considerations. 
His  adversaries  were  organizing  a  powerful,  though 
as  yet  cautious  and  crafty,  opposition.      He  stood  in 


400  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE  CHRIST. 

an  excited  circle  of  "worldly  men ;  and  whether  they 
were  for  him  or  against  him,  they  were  for  the  most 
part  seeking  a  material  and  secular  interest.  It  was 
important  that  he  should,  if  possible,  break  through 
this  carnal  view,  and  kindle  in  their  minds  some  idea 
of  that  spiritual  kingdom  which  he  sought  to  establish. 

On  no  other  subject  did  he  concentrate  so  many 
parables  as  upon  this.  Eight  of  them  in  succession, 
and  apparently  at  about  the  same  time,  evince  his 
earnestness,  and  his  estimate  of  the  importance  of  the 
topic.  The  Sower,  the  Tares,  the  Growth  of  Seed,  the 
Grain  of  Mustard-seed,  the  Leaven,  the  Treasure-field, 
the  Pearl,  the  Net,  —  each  one  of  these  expounded 
some  view  of  his  kingdom.  In  reading  them,  one  is 
struck  with  the  w^holly  spiritual  and  unworldly  charac- 
ter of  that  kingdom.  There  is  no  intimation  of  a  so- 
ciety or  of  organization. 

These  parables  are  evidently  the  fragments  of  dis- 
course. The  disciples  remembered  and  recorded  them 
as  brief  and  striking  pictures;  but  it  is  not  likely 
that  Jesus  put  them  forth  one  after  the  other,  without 
any  filling  up  or  exposition.  We  know,  in  regard 
to  some,  that  they  were  parts  of  interlocutory  dis- 
course, and  that  they  gave  rise  to  questions  and  to  an- 
swers. It  is  highly  probable  that  all  of  them  were 
preceded  and  followed  by  expository  matter,  on  which 
the  parables  were  wrought  like  the  figures  upon  lace. 
The  sudden  addiction  of  Christ  to  parables  is  the  sign 
of  a  serious  change  in  his  relations  to  that  part  of  the 
people  who  were  now  secretly  banding  together  in 
opposition  to  his  influence.  We  have  already  seen  the 
feeling  which  this  conduct  produced  in  his  bosom. 
Although  his  personal  relations  were   apparently  not 


AROUND  THE  SEA   OF  GALILEE.  401 

affected,  and  he  moved  among  the  Pharisees  as  he  had 
always  done,  he  regarded  portions  of  them  as  being 
so  dangerous  that  it  was  prudent  to  forestall  their 
efforts  to  catch  something  out  of  his  mouth,  that  they  might 
accuse  him. 

A  parable  —  or  a  moral  truth  thrown  into  the  form 
of  an  imaginary  history,  a  germ  drama  —  was  pecu- 
liarly fitted  for  the  double  office  which  in  his  hands  it 
had  to  perform.  It  was  an  instructive  form  of  speech, 
addressing  the  imagination,  and  clinging  tenaciously  to 
the  memory.  It  was  admirably  suited  to  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  common  people.  It  had  also  this  advan- 
tage, that  throughout  the  East  it  was  a  familiar  style 
of  instruction,  and  the  people  were  both  used  to  it  and 
fond  of  it.  On  the  other  hand,  its  polemic  advantages 
were  eminent.  By  parables  Jesus  could  advance  his 
views  with  the  utmost  boldness,  and  yet  give  to  his 
enemies  but  little  chance  of  perverting  his  words.  It 
was  necessary  to  baffle  their  devices,  without  restrict- 
ing the  scope  of  his  teaching  or  abating  his  activity. 

We  have  already  glanced  at  the  methods  by  which 
the  Scribes  sought  an  end  to  this  reformer,  as  soon 
as  they  became  satisfied  that  he  could  not  be  used 
as  a  tool  for  their  own  advantage.  The  topic  will 
bear  unfolding  still  further.  They  first  attempted  to 
excite  against  him  the  fears  of  the  government,  and 
to  cause  his  arrest  as  one  politically  dangerous.  This 
would  seem  beforehand  to  promise  the  surest  and 
speediest  results.  Herod  was  suspicious,  jealous  of 
his  power,  and  cruel  in  vindicating  it.  The  great 
excitement  which  kindled  around  Jesus,  and  the  ex- 
cessive throngs  which  followed  him,  gave  color  to 
unfavorable  representations.     The  general  conduct  of 

26 


402  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

Jesus  must  have  been  very  circumspect.  Indeed,  we 
are  struck,  not  only  with  the  absence  of  pohtical 
topics  from  his  teachings,  but  with  the  unworldly 
treatment  of  common  secular  duties.  M)/  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  toorld  was  as  plainly  indicated  by  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount  as  by  his  final  declaration.  Poli- 
ticians were  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  Jesus  had 
no  purpose  of  publicly  or  secretly  organizing  the  peo- 
ple. Every  political  jDarty  has  one  or  two  sensitive 
tests.  If  a  man  is  sound  or  harmless  in  respect  to 
them,  he  is  regarded  as  safe.  In  ecclesiastical  admin- 
istration these  tests  are  apt  to  be  doctrinal  or  ritual. 
In  political  management  they  are  more  likely  to  re- 
late to  practical  polic}^  Judged  by  political  tests,  it 
must  have  seemed  to  disinterested  spectators  that  Jesus 
was  simply  a  very  benevolent  man,  with  great  power 
of  personal  fascination,  who  indulged  in  impracticable 
dreams  of  an  ideal  future ;  that  he  neglected  the 
most  admirable  opportunities  for  forming  a  party,  and 
squandered  his  influence  for  lack  of  organization. 
The  people  again  and  again  came  at  his  call,  but  dis- 
solved and  sunk  away  without  bringing  to  him  any 
advantage.  His  doctrine  passed  over  the  surface  of 
society  as  the  shadows  of  white  clouds  high  up  in  the 
heavens  pass  over  fields  and  forests,  making  transient 
pictures,  but  changing  nothing  in  root,  leaf,  or  fruit. 
There  was  far  less  to  fear  in  such  a  man  than  in  the 
narrower,  but  more  immediately  practical,  John  the 
Baptist.  Besides,  it  may  be  presumed  that  there  were 
in  Herod's  household  friends  of  Jesus,  who  had  the 
ear  of  the  king  or  of  his  advisers.  We  know  that  the 
wife  of  Herod's  steward  was  a  devoted  friend  to  the 
prophet  of  Galilee.     The  fate  of  men  and  of  policies 


AROUND   THE  SEA   OF   GALILEE.  403 

often  depends  upon  the  soft  whisper,  in  an  hour  of  lei- 
sure, of  one  whom  the  public  neither  sees  nor  knows, 
whose  very  obscurity  lends  to  his  influence  by  disarm- 
ing jealousy  or  the  fear  of  selfish  counsel. 

Political  influences  failing,  the  next  obvious  method 
of  destroying  Jesus  would  be  to  embroil  him  with 
the  people.  The  Pharisees,  representing  the  patri- 
otic feeling  of  the  nation,  were  very  popular  with 
the  masses.  The  people  were  apt  upon  the  slightest 
provocation  to  burst  out  into  uncontrollable  fanati- 
cism. How  easy  it  would  be  to  sweep  away  this  man 
of  Nazareth  in  some  wild  outbreak !  But  Jesus,  a 
man  of  the  common  people,  living  day  by  day  among 
them,  familiar  with  all  their  prejudices,  their  thoughts, 
their  wants,  and  ministering  to  their  necessities  by 
almost  daily  acts  of  beneficence,  could  not  easily  be 
withdrawn  from  the  sympathies  of  the  poor.  The 
crowds  of  grateful  creatures  that  surrounded  him 
might  be  ignorant  of  his  real  doctrines,  and  take  little 
profit  from  his  spirit;  but  they  j)roved  a  stronger  bar- 
rier between  him  and  his  enemies  of  the  synagogue 
and  the  Temple  than  an  imperial  army  would  have 
been.  ,  They  were  unconsciously  his  body-guard. 

The  only  other  method  of  putting  Jesus  out  of  the 
way  was  by  the  exercise  of  the  power  of  discipline 
in  the  hands  of  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim.  But  a  trial  for 
heresy  required  material.  It  was  not  easy  to  procure 
it.  Jesus  was  in  disagreement  with  the  religious 
leaders  of  his  people,  but  he  was  historically  in  accord 
with  Moses  and  the  Prophets.  He  was  really  more 
orthodox  than  the  Rabbis. 

It  was  for  the  sake  of  bringing  him  to  trial  before 
the  religious  tribunal  of  his  people  for  some  form  of 


404  TSE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  TEE  CHRIST. 

error,  that  lie  was  now  watched  with  indefatigable 
vigilance ;  and  the  change  in  his  method  of  teaching- 
may  be  attributed  greatly  to  that.  For  a  marked 
change  took  place  in  the  style  of  his  teaching  soon 
after  the  calling  and  sending  forth  of  his  disciples. 
In  expounding  to  them  the  parable  of  the  Sower,  as  we 
shall  see,  Jesus  expressly  gave  as  a  reason  for  using 
the  parabolic  form  in  teaching,  that  it  would  baffle  his 
enemies.  It  would  convey  the  truth ;  and  yet,  as  the 
vehicle  was  a  fiction,  his  adversaries  would  be  unable 
to  catch  him  in  his  words.  There  is  no  instance  in 
which  his  parables  were  alleged  as  an  offence.  The 
Pharisees  knew  at  whom  they  were  aimed;  yet  so 
w^isely  did  Jesus  frame  them,  that  nothing  contrary 
to  the  law  or  to  national  customs  could  be  made  out 
of  them. 

But  the  larger  use  of  the  parable  in  his  teachings 
is  not  the  only  change  to  be  noticed  at  this  period. 
"We  shall  find  an  impetus  to  his  discourses,  an  attack- 
ing force,  which  shows  that  he  designed  to  put  his 
adversaries  on  the  defensive.  Instead  of  watching 
him,  they  found  themselves  impelled  to  study  their 
own  defence.  Many  came  as  if  conscious  of  great 
superiority,  and  as  pompous  patrons.  But  they  were 
handled  as  if  they  were  very  poorly  instructed  pupils. 

These  considerations  of  the  state  of  the  conflict  Avill 
not  only  illustrate  the  general  prudence  of  Jesus's 
course,  but  will  give  significance  to  many  incidents 
which  otherwise  woulS  lose  their  real  bearings. 

It  was  in  the  face  and  under  the  influence  of  this 
crafty  conspiracy  against  him  that  he  pronounced  the 
words  recorded  by  Luke,  which  not  only  informed 
them  explicitly  that  he  divined  their  plans,  but  in- 


AROUND  THE  SEA   OF  GALILEE  405 

structed  his  disciples  that  both  they  and  their  master 
were  under  the  care  of  a  Divine  Providence  which 
watches  over  the  minutest  elements  of  creation.  Con- 
sidered as  the  utterance  of  one  standing  amidst  shrewd 
and  venomous  enemies,  this  tranquillizing  and  com- 
forting spirit  is  truly  divine. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  when  there  were  gathered  to- 
gether an  innumerable  multitude  of  people,  insomuch 
that  they  trode  one  upon  another,  he  began  to  say  unto 
his  disciples  first  of  all.  Beware  ye  of  the  leaven  of  the 
Pharisees,  which  is  hypocrisy.  For  there  is  nothing 
covered  that  shall  not  be  revealed;  neither  hid,  that 
shall  not  be  known.  Therefore  whatsoever  ye  have 
spoken  in  darkness  shall  be  heard  in  the  light ;  and  that 
which  ye  have  spoken  in  the  ear  in  closets  shall  be 
proclaimed  upon  the  house-tops.  And  I  say  unto  you 
my  friends,  Be  not  afraid  of  them  that  kill  the  body, 
and  after  that  have  no  more  that  they  can  do.  But  I 
will  forewarn  you  whom  ye  shall  fear :  Fear  him  which, 
after  he  hath  killed,  hath  power  to  cast  into  hell ;  yea, 
I  say  unto  you.  Fear  him.  Are  not  five  sparrows  sold 
for  two  farthings?  and  not  one  of  them  is  forgotten 
before  God :  but  even  the  very  hairs  of  your  head 
are  all  numbered.  Fear  not,  therefore  :  ye  are  of  more 
value  than  many  sparrows.  Also  I  say  unto  you, 
Whosoever  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  shall  the 
Son  of  Man  also  confess  before  the  angels  of  God  : 
but  he  that  denieth  me  before  men  shall  be  denied 
before  the  angels  of  God.  And  whosoever  shall  speak 
a  word  against  the  Son  of  Man,  it  shall  be  forgiven 
him ;  but  unto  him  that  blasphemeth  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven.  And  when  they  bring 
you  unto  the  synagogues,  and  unto  magistrates  and 


406  TUE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CnRIST. 

powers,  take  ye  no  thought  how  or  what  thing  ye 
shall  answer,  or  what  ye  shall  say :  for  the  Holy 
Ghost  shall  teach  you  in  the  same  hour  what  ye 
ought  to  say." 

An  incident  occurred  about  this  time  which  deserves 
more  than  a  passing  notice.  A  young  man  appealed 
to  Jesus  against  his  brother,  in  the  matter  of  dividing 
some  property  that  had  been  left  to  them.  "  Master, 
speak  to  my  brother  that  he  divide  the  inheritance 
with  me."  One  who  was  smarting  under  a  wrong 
would  naturally  appeal  to  a  great  teacher  of  morals 
for  advice  and  influence.  The  reply  of  Jesus  surprises 
us  by  an  apparent  severity  for  which  at  first  we  can- 
not account,  — "  Man,  who  made  me  a  judge  or  a 
divider  over  you?"  But  if  the  cunning  Scribes  had 
whisj^ered  this  young  man  on,  hojDing  to  induce  Jesus 
through  his  symj)athies  to  assume  judicial  functions 
and  to  step  into  a  snare,  we  can  understand  that  the 
severity  of  his  abrupt  refusal  was  meant  more  for  the 
Pharisees  than  for  their  dupe.  Yet,  though  he  could 
not  assume  the  authority  of  courts  and  distribute  prop- 
erty, he  could  fasten  the  attention  upon  the  most  lofty 
views  respecting  the  ends  of  life.  Beware  of  covetous- 
ness :  for  a  man's  Ufe  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the 
tilings  tvJiich  he  possesseth.  One  may  be  happy  in  riches ; 
but  there  is  a  higher  enjoyment  than  any  which  wealth 
can  bestow.  This  view  was  not  left  as  a  mere  apo- 
thegm. He  framed  it  into  a  picture  which  no  one 
could  ever  forget.  For  the  memory  of  things  received 
through  the  imagination  is  ineradicable. 

In  a  dozen  lines  he  gives  a  perfect  drama.  Avarice, 
made  good-natured  by  prosperity,  comisels  with  itself 
and  fills  the   future  with  visions  of   self-indulgence. 


AROUND  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE.  407 

Then  from  out  the  great  reahn  above  comes  a  voice 
pronouncing  eternal  bankruptcy  to  the  presumptuous 
dreamer ! 

"  And  he  spake  a  parable  unto  them,  saying,  The 
ground  of  a  certain  rich  man  brought  forth  plentifully : 
and  he  thought  within  himself,  saying.  What  shall  I  do, 
because  I  have  no  room  where  to  bestow  my  fruits? 
And  he  said.  This  will  I  do  :  I  will  pull  down  my  barns, 
and  build  greater;  and  there  will  I  bestow  all  my 
fruits  and  my  goods.  And  I  will  say  to  my  soul.  Soul, 
thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years ;  take 
thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry.  But  God  said 
unto  him,  Thou  fool,  this  night  thy  soul  shall  be  re- 
quired of  thee :  then  whose  shall  those  things  be 
which  thou  hast  provided?  So  is  he  that  layeth  up 
treasure  for  himself,  and  is  not  rich  toward  God." 

This  is  the  contrast  that  evermore  exists,  in  ten 
thousand  forms,  between  the  visible  and  the  invisi- 
ble. Just  beyond  inordinate  mirth  lie  gloom  and 
sadness.  Through  the  tears  of  desponding  sorrow 
rises  on  the  background  beyond  a  tender  rainbow. 
When  the  sun  is  setting,  the  human  form  projects  a 
grotesque  and  monstrous  shadow  far  along  the  ground ; 
and  so  character  casts  forward  a  shadow  into  the  future, 
whether  fair  or  hideous,  in  prodigious  disproportion  to 
the  seeming  magnitude  of  the  living  reality. 

The  parables  of  Jesus,  as  we  find  them  in  the  Gos- 
pels, are  like  pearls  cast  into  a  jewel-case,  without 
order  or  selection.  The  thread  that  connected  them 
is  lost.  But  we  often  find  an  inward  congruity  be- 
tween the  parable  and  the  events  just  then  happen- 
ing, that  creates  a  probability  as  to  the  order.  Thus 
the  two  parables  respecting  the  unminence  of  death 


408  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

would  seem  naturally  to  have  followed  the  parable 
of  the  rich  fool.  There  are  two;  one  in  Hght,  the 
other  in  shadow.  Could  anything  be  more  radiant 
and  original,  contrasted  with  the  frightful  pagan  ideas 
of  death,  or  with  the  dismal  ideas  of  the  primitive 
Jewish  nations,  than  the  figure  of  Death  as  a  bride- 
groom returning  from  wedding  festivities  to  his  house- 
hold? Yet,  in  exhorting  his  disciples  to  be  in  con- 
stant preparation  for  the  event  of  death,  Jesus  urges 
them  to  be  vigilant  and  cheerful  watchers,  "  like  unto 
men  that  wait  for  their  lord,  when  he  will  return  from 
the  wedding."  Their  lord  shall  cause  them  to  sit 
down  to  a  banquet,  and  he  himself,  in  love,  shall  honor 
and  serve  them.  This  watching  must  run  through  the 
series  of  hours,  whether  he  come  in  the  second  watch 
or  in  the  third  watch.  It  is  to  be  an  all-night  fidelity. 
There  is  a  fine  vein  of  poetry  in  the  implication  that 
this  life  is  a  night,  and  death  the  breaking  of  the 
morning,  the  awaking  from  sleep.  But  the  mention 
of  the  night  watches  suggests  a  new  illustration,  and 
the  parable  changes.  It  is  a  householder  now,  secure, 
asleep,  dreaming  happily.  But  hovering  near  is  the 
artful  thief  He  steals  noiselessly  to  the  window.  He 
enters  without  discovery  and  despoils  the  house  of 
treasure  in  the  very  face  of  its  owner,  too  fast  asleep 
to  know  the  mischief  that  is  going  on.  When  the 
man  awakes  and  discerns  the  state  of  things,  no  doubt 
he  will  bestir  himself  But  too  late !  The  thief  is 
gone,  and  with  him  the  goods !  ^ 

Peter  now  interposes  a  question  as  to  whether  the 
parables  referred  to  the  disciples  only,  or  also  to  the 
whole  multitude.    The  reply  is  not  recorded ;  but  the 

»  Luke  xii.  35-40. 


AROUND  THE  SEA   OF  GALILEE.  409 

new  parable  which  followed  it  indicates  the  nature 
of  the  reply,  —  that  he  was  speaking  to  all  alike. 
In  a  few  words  Jesus  depicts  the  interior  of  some 
princely  household;  the  master  is  absent,  and  not 
soon  expected  home ;  the  faithless  steward,  assuming 
airs  of  superiority,  betakes  himself  to  inordinate  fes- 
tivities, and  in  his  drunken  revelling  plays  the  petty 
tyrant,  abusing  the  servants  with  words  and  blows. 
In  the  midst  of  the  shameful  debauch,  the  master  sud- 
denly appears.  In  an  instant  all  is  changed.  The 
unfaithful  servant  is  convicted,  dispossessed,  and  cast 
forth.  There  could  be  no  doubt  in  Peter's  mind 
whether  he  spoke  "  to  all "  or  not.  By  such  a  picture, 
the  materials  of  which  were  too  abundant  in  that  age 
and  country,  Jesus  would  fix  in  the  memory  of  a 
curious  crowd,  subject  to  evanescent  excitements,  the 
great  danger  of  giving  way  to  their  passions  in  this 
life  without  regard  to  that  great  After-Life,  which, 
though  silent,  is  certain  and  near  at  hand,  and  whose 
happiness  dej^ends  upon  the  results  of  the  moral  edu- 
cation evolved  in  this  visible  world. 

The  picture  was  not  only  likely  to  abide  in  the 
memory,  teaching  its  own  lesson,  but  it  was  made  to 
carry  with  it  certain  short  sentences,  whose  truths  lie 
at  the  foundation  of  responsible  moral  government. 
The  servant  that  knew  his  lord's  will,  and  did  it  not, 
shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes ;  but  he  that  knew 
not,  with  few  stripes.  The  severity  of  punishment  is 
to  be  graded  by  the  deliberation  with  which  the  law 
of  duty  is  broken.  Under  a  government  of  physical 
laws,  the  motive  of  the  transgressor  has  no  influence 
upon  the  penalty.  The  ignorant  and  the  intelligent, 
those  who  disobey  wilfully  and  those  who  do  it  un- 


410  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

knowingly,  suffer  alike.  But  under  a  moral  govern- 
ment the  penalty  is  graded  according  to  the  deliber- 
ation and  wilfulness  with  which  disobedience  takes 
place.  The  very  essence  of  moral  government  consists 
in  its  administration,  not  by  an  implacable  law,  but  by 
an  intelligent  ruler,  who  can  shape  rewards  and  penal- 
ties to  the  moral  character  of  a  subject's  conduct.  It 
is  plain  that  Jesus  was  speaking  of  the  future  hfe,  and 
of  the  effect  of  men's  conduct  here  upon  their  con- 
dition hereafter.  Indeed,  we  shall  presently  see  that 
in  this  respect  he  stood  in  extraordinary  contrast  to 
the  great  teachers  of  the  Old  Testament  dispensation, 
who,  whatever  may  have  been  their  private  hopes, 
never  derived  motives  or  sanctions  from  the  great 
truth  of  an  after  life,  but  wholly  from  the  relations  of 
conduct  to  this  present  existence.  Jesus,  on  the  con- 
trary, scarcely  noticing  the  effect  of  human  actions  on 
men's  secular  welfare,  almost  invariably  points  to  the 
future  world  as  the  sphere  in  which  the  nature  and 
consequences  of  men's  actions  will  be  disclosed. 

The  doctrine  of  immortality  in  a  world  to  come  has 
not  in  the  teachings  of  Jesus  the  appearance  of  a 
fresh  philosophical  theory  or  of  a  new  truth,  kindluig 
in  him  a  constant  surprise  and  intensity.  It  seems 
rather  like  unconscious  knowledge.  He  speaks  of 
the  great  invisible  world  as  if  it  had  always  lain  be- 
fore him,  and  as  familiarly  as  to  us  stretches  out  the 
landscape  which  we  have  seen  since  our  birth.  The 
assertion  of  a  future  state  is  scarcely  to  be  met  with  in 
his  teachings :  the  assumption  of  it  pervades  them. 

This  familiarity  with  another  world,  and  the  calm 
sense  of  its  transcendent  value  over  this  life,  must  be 
kept  in  mind  if  we  would  fully  appreciate  his  instruc- 


AROUND  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE.  i\\ 

tions.  Men  seemed  to  him,  as  laborious  triflers,  toiling 
for  perishable  things^  and  indifferent  to  things  momen- 
tous and  eternal.  That  silent  contrast  between  the 
sjDiritual  sphere  and  the  world  of  matter  seems  never 
to  have  been  absent  from  his  mind.  Out  of  this 
atmosphere  came  parable,  criticism,  judgment,  and 
rebuke,  and  their  force  and  spirit  cannot  be  under- 
stood unless  we  enter  fully  into   this  conception. 

To  one  before  whom  dwelt  the  eternal  calm  and  joy 
of  a  higher  life,  how  foolish  must  have  seemed  the 
frivolous  zeal,  the  intense  absorption  in  trifles,  the 
thoroughly  sensuous  life,  of  the  Pharisees !  Their 
sacred  heats  were  like  a  rash  upon  the  skin.  They 
thought  themselves  superlatively  wise.  They  prided 
themselves  upon  their  tact  in  managing  men,  their 
sagacity  in  planning  and  skill  in  executing  their  petty 
schemes  of  party  and  personal  ambition.  And  yet 
in  their  very  midst  stood  the  greatest  person  that 
had  ever  appeared  on  earth,  teaching  sublime  wisdom, 
almost  unheard ;  and  the  Pharisees  could  see  nothina- 
in  him  but  a  dangerous  zealot !  "  Ye  can  discern 
the  face  of  the  sky,"  said  Jesus  to  them,  "  and  of  the 
earth,  but  how  is  it  that  ye  do  not  discern  this  time  ? 
Why  even  of  yourselves  do  ye  not  judge  what  is 
right?"  They  were  going  on  blindly  to  eternity, 
there  to  meet  an  unlooked-for  doom.  Jesus  likened 
them  to  debtors  in  the  hands  of  a  rigorous  creditor : 
When  thou  gocst  tvith  thine  adversary  to  the  magistrate,  as 
thou  art  in  the  wag,  give  diligence  that  thou  magcst  he  deliv- 
ered from  him  ;  lest  he  hale  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge 
deliver  thee  to  the  officer,  and  the  officer  cast  thee  into  prison. 
I  tell  thee,  thou  shalt  not  depart  thence  till  thou  hast  paid  the 
very  last  mite. 


412  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   TEE  CHRIST. 

And  yet  there  was  hope  even  for  Pharisees.  God 
was  waiting  with  long  patience,  and  bringing  to  bear 
upon  them  the  most  extraordinary  moral  influences. 
For  a  little  time  this  would  continue.  Then  would 
come  the  irremediable  end.  All  this  he  set  forth  in 
the  parable  of  the  fig-tree  :  — He  sjjaTce  also  {ids  jKirable : 
A  certain  man  had  a  fig-tree  planted  in  his  vineyard  ;  and  he 
came  and  sought  fruit  thereon,  and  found  none.  Then  said 
he  unto  the  dresser  of  his  vineyard,  Behold,  these  three  years 
I  come  seeldng  fruit  on  this  fig-tree,  and  find  none :  cut  it 
doum ;  zvhg  cumber eth  it  the  ground?  And  he  answering 
said  unto  him.  Lord,  let  it  alone  this  year  also,  till  I  shall  dig 
about  it,  and  dung  it :  and  if  it  hear  fruit,  well:  and  if  not, 
then  after  that  thou  shall  cut  it  down. 

While  he  was  thus  teaching,  some  one  from  the 
crowd  —  with  that  familiarity  which  strikingly  reveals 
the  footing  on  which  Jesus  stood  with  the  people,  and 
which  led  them  to  bring  to  his  notice  the  news,  the 
rumors,  and  the  questions  of  the  day,  that  they  might 
hear  what  he  had  to  say  —  told  him  of  the  slaughter 
by  Herod,  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  of  certain  j^eo- 
ple  of  his  own  province  of  Galilee. 

It  is  probable  that  this  was  one  of  those  minor  in- 
surrections which  were  continually  taking  place  among 
the  Jews,  one  which  was  not  of  sufficient  importance 
to  be  noticed  in  any  history.  The  informants  of  Jesus 
appear  to  have  thought  that  the  cruel  death  of  these 
men  indicated  their  great  sinfulness.  No.  The  prov- 
idential dealings  of  God  with  men  do  not  proceed 
upon  grounds  of  moral  desert.  He  maketh  the  sun 
to  rise  and  the  rain  to  fall  upon  the  good  and  bad 
alike. 

There  u'cre  pi^esent  at  that  season  some  that  told  him  of  the 


AROUND  THE  SEA   OF  GALILEE.  413 

Galileans,  vjJiose  hlood  Pilate  had  mingled  with  their  sacrifices. 
And  Jesus  ansivering  said  unto  them,  Suppose  ye  that  these 
Galileans  ivere  sinners  above  all  the  Galileans,  because  they 
silvered  such  things?  I  tell  yon,  Nay :  hut,  except  ye  repent, 
ye  shall  all  likeivise  perish.  Or  those  eighteen,  upon  whom 
the  toiver  in  Siloam  fell,  and  sleiv  them,  think  ye  that  they 
ivere  sinners  above  all  men  that  dwelt  in  Jerusalem  ?  I  tell 
you.  Nay :  bid,  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise 
perish. 

By  this  declaration  Jesns  put  himself  in  direct  an- 
tagonism to  the  philosophy  of  his  nation,  and  to  the 
belief  which  had  prevailed  through  the  whole  period 
of  the  Old  Testament  dispensation.  The  old  Hebrew 
approached  very  near  to  the  modern  doctrine  of  ma- 
terial laws ;  only,  he  attributed  directly  to  the  Divine 
will  the  effects  which  we  refer  to  "natural  laws." 
But  he  believed,  with  the  modern,  that  good  or  evil 
results  from  obedience  or  disobedience.  By  a  natural 
inference  he  supposed  that  one  upon  whom  a  great 
evil  came  was  suffering  the  punishment  of  sin.  Al- 
though the  doctrine  of  a  future  life  and  of  rewards 
and  punishments  after  death  was  already  familiar  to 
the  Jewish  mind,  yet  the  old  notion  that  misfortune 
is  an  evidence  of  criminality  had  not  been  weeded 
out,  and  Jesus  plainly  told  them  that  those  who  had 
been  slain  by  Herod,  and  those  crushed  by  the  falling 
tower  in  Siloam,  were  not  sinful  more  than  others. 
God's  judgments  are  spiritual,  and  they  overhang  all 
men  alike  who  continue  in  worldly  and  selfish  courses. 

In  the  incessant  conflict  of  opinion  that  now  at- 
tended Jesus,  he  was  obliged  to  assume  a  vigorous 
defence,  or  to  make  pimgent  criticism.  To  easy  and 
indolent  natures,  that  do  not  so  much  love  peace  as 


414  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

dislike  laborious  exertion,  it  is  more  than  likely  that 
Jesus  seemed  an  unnecessary  disturber.  Why  is  it 
needful,  they  would  say,  to  dispute  with  the  authori- 
ties of  the  synagogue  ?  Of  what  use  will  be  so  much 
reprehension  ?  Is  the  Messiah's  kingdom  to  be  ad- 
vanced by  such  intestine  turmoil  and  conflict?  Is 
not  the  coming  Prince  to  be  meek  and  gentle  among 
his  own  people,  and  terrible  only  to  the  heathen  ? 
And  his  kingdom,  is  it  not  to  bring  j)eace  ?  Human 
nature  must  have  undergone  a  great  change  since 
then,  if  many  of  his  auditors  did  not  suggest  to  him 
such  considerations. 

But  far  different  w^as  the  Messiah's  kingdom!  It 
was  to  have  no  external  form  and  no  national  history. 
No  one  could  see  it  coming,  as  he  could  view  the  ad- 
vance of  an  army,  or  witness  the  development  and 
growth  of  a  secular  nation.  When  men  should  have 
their  passions  in  perfect  control,  when  benevolence 
should  have  expelled  selfishness,  when  purity  and 
truth  should  pervade  society  where  deceit  and  vul- 
gar appetite  held  sway,  then  the  kingdom  of  the 
Messiah  would  dawn.  But  how  long  and  severe  a 
struggle !  The  corruption  of  human  nature  would 
not  be  purged  out  without  pain.  There  doubtless 
rose  before  the  mind  of  Jesus  those  ages  of  conflict 
through  which  Christian  civilization  has  sought  to 
expel  the  animal  passions  from  the  control  of  human 
society.  Suppose  ye,  he  cried,  that  I  am  come  to 
give  peace'  on  earth?  I  tell  you  nay,  but  rather  di- 
vision !  And  it  shall  not  be  simply  a  division  created 
by  selfishness,  or  the  collisions  of  self-will  and  pride. 
Conscience  also  shall  disturb  men.  Renewed  and  ex- 
alted sensibilities  shall  make  the  selfish  ways  of  life 


AROUND  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE.  415 

seem  hateful,  and  a  zeal  for  purity  and  goodness  shall 
burn  as  a  fire.  My  kingdom  shall  separate  closest 
friends.  It  shall  divide  the  household.  The  fiither 
shall  be  divided  against  the  son,  and  the  son  against 
the  father ;  the  mother  against  the  daughter,  and  the 
daughter  against  the  mother. 

We  must  not  imagine  all  these  things  as  said  on 
a  single  occasion,  or  before  the  same  audience.  The 
record  is  but  an  epitome  of  the  labors  of  days  and 
weeks,  —  in  Capernaum,  by  the  sea-shore,  in  the  fields, 
along  the  wayside,  in  towns  and  villages.  The  sun 
rose  and  set  between  many  of  the  lines  of  the  record. 
Between  verse  and  verse  miracles  were  performed. 
Much  that  was  said  and  done  is  left  out.  Jesus  was 
more  active  than  appears  on  the  face  of  the  Gospel 
narratives ;  rich  as  they  are  in  his  words,  he  was  far 
more  fruitful  than  they  represent.  John,  with  the 
first  three  Gospels  before  him,  closes  his  own  his- 
tory of  the  life  of  Jesus  with  a  declaration  whose  ex- 
travagance fitly  attests  his  sense  of  the  fruitfulness  of 
Jesus's  life.  And  there  are  also  many  other  things  which 
Jesus  did,  the  tvhich,  if  they  should  he  ivritten  every  one,  I 
suppose  that  even  the  world  itself  could  not  contain  the  loolcs 
that  shoidd  be  written. 

The  period  of  which  we  are  now  treating  was  the 
very  height  of  the  Lord's  activity,  and  we  may  easily 
imagine  that  the  unrecorded  part  of  his  labors  far  ex- 
ceeded those  portions  which  were  afterwards  written 
down.  Jesus  did  not  live  all  the  time  in  the  excite- 
ment of  the  throng.  At  noonday  he  retired  from  the 
open  air  to  the  shelter  of  his  Capernaum  house. 
When  the  heat  diminished,  and  the  shadows  began  to 
fall  upon  the  lake,  "  went  Jesus  out  of  the  house  and 


416  TUE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

sat  by  the  seaside."  The  Sea  of  Gahlee  would  hardly 
have  been  heard  of  had  it  deiDended  for  fame  ujdoii 
its  scenery  alone.  A  hundred  lakes  surpass  it  in  pic- 
turesque beauty.  But  no  other  lake  o^  earth  fires  the 
imagination  and  fills  the  heart  with  such  emotion  as 
this  strip  of  water  a  little  over  twelve  miles  long,  and 
in  its  widest  part  not  quite  seven  broad.  Although  it 
is  between  six  and  seven  hundred  feet  below  the  level 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  the  descent  to  it  is  not  pre- 
cipitous, and  at  but  few  points  is  the  shore  line  steep, 
or  overhung  with  cHfis  of  any  considerable  height. 
The  west  shore,  especially,  is  bounded  by  slopes  of 
rounded  hills,  and  in  some  places  edged  with  small 
plains,  —  notably  the  little  plain  of  Genesareth,  whose 
fertility  and  beauty  seem  to  have  excited  the  enthu- 
siasm of  Josephus. 

The  public  life  of  Jesus  may  be  said  to  have  had 
its  centre  and  chief  development  around  the  Sea  of 
Galilee.  Nothing  can  excel  or  equal  in  intensity  of 
interest  the  few  closing  weeks  of  his  life  in  Jerusalem ; 
but,  these  apart,  the  Sea  of  Galilee  witnessed  the 
chief  part  of  his  ministrations.  This  he  was  himself 
conscious  of  He  taught  everywhere,  through  UiDper 
and  Lower  Galilee ;  but  only  against  the  cities  on 
the  shores  of  the  lake  did  he  utter  maledictions  for 
their  obduracy.  Upon  them  he  had  bestowed  a 
long-continued  and  fruitful  activity  without  a  parallel. 
But  little  of  his  time  seems  to  have  been  given  to  the 
southern  portions  of  the  lake-shore  population.  He 
dwelt  upon  the  northern  border,  and  the  most  mem- 
orable events  of  his  Galilean  ministry  took  place  at 
the  upper  end  of  the  lake ;  and  with  a  few  striking 
exceptions,  such  as  the  feeding  of  the  multitude  and 


AROUND  TBE  SEA  OF  GALILEE.  417 

the  casting  out  of  demons  from  the  man  of  the  tombs, 
his  deeds  and  teachings  belong  chiefly  to  the  north- 
west portion.  \ 
It  was  but  a  short  distance  from  Capernaum  to  the 
plain  of  Genesareth.  Part  of  the  beach  is  made  up 
of  fragments  of  basalt,  but  in  many  places  it  is  com- 
posed of  fine  white  sand,  pebbles,  and  shells.  Without 
doubt  it  was  far  more  pleasant  for  passage  in  that  day, 
when  the  commerce  of  a  swarming  population  re- 
quired such  a  roadway  as  the  shore  would  make,  than 
it  now  is,  after  the  neglect  of  ages.  The  traveller 
then  would  find  many  a  sward  of  green  grass  kindled 
with  brilliant  flowers.  It  is  doubtful  if,  in  the  time  of 
our  history,  the  borders  of  the  lake  were  edged  with 
trees  to  the  degree  that  we  are  accustomed  to  see 
around  the  lakes  in  temperate  Northern  lands.  But 
they  doubtless  flourished  to  an  extent  which  one  could 
hardly  imagine  who  now  looks  upon  the  barren  hills 
and  shore  from  which  vandal  hands  have  stripped 
wellnigh  every  tree.  There  must  have  been  places 
within  easy  reach  of  his  house  in  Capernaum  where 
cool  rocks  were  overshadowed  by  dense  foliage.  Mac- 
gregor,  who  explored  the  Sea  of  Galilee  in  a  canoe, 
found  near  to  Bethsaida  "  great  rocks  projecting  from 
the  shore  into  the  waves,  while  verdure  most  pro- 
fuse teems  over  them,  and  long  streamers  of '  maiden's- 
hair,'  and  richest  grasses  and  ferns  and  briers  and 
moss,  wave  pendent  in  the  breeze,  or  trail  upon  the 
water."  Along  the  shore,  in  favored  spots,  grew  reeds 
and  rushes,  and  the  far-famed  papyrus ;  the  olive,  the 
fig,  and  the  palm  at  that  time  abounded.  Nor  can 
we  doubt  that  oaks,  walnuts,  and  terebinths  cast  down 
dense  and  grateful  shade  on  many  a  point  along  the 


418  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

shore.  The  thorn-trees,  in  thickets,  and  luxuriant 
clumps  of  oleander,  glowing  with  rosy  and  pink  blos- 
soms hke  a  burning  bush,  added  to  the  charms  of  the 
scene. 

The  solitary  walks  of  Jesus  must  often  have  been 
along  this  level  beach,  which,  with  slight  obstructions 
here  and  there,  ran  around  the  whole  lake.  He  must 
often  have  seen  the  morning  mists  rise  as  the  sun 
advanced,  and  heard  the  cry  of  the  fishermen  return- 
ing shoreward  from  their  early  work.  Before  his  eyes 
rose  the  high  and  scarped  hills  of  Bashan  on  the  east 
of  the  lake.  The  mouth  of  the  upper  Jordan,  coming 
into  the  lake  from  the  north,  was  but  two  or  three 
miles  distant,  probably  not  then  green  with  reeds  as 
in  our  day,  but  edged  Avith  the  houses  of  cities  now 
perished.  That  Jesus  was  observant  of  nature,  at  least 
when  associated  with  human  industry,  is  shown  by 
his  parables ;  and  it  is  none  the  less  striking  because 
his  eye  discerned  the  moral  uses,  rather  than  the 
purely  sesthetical  relations  of  things.  No  one  could 
be  conversant  with  the  Hebrew  prophets,  or  with  the 
singers  of  Israel,  and  be  indifferent  to  the  aspects  of 
the  natural  world.  The  moral  suggestions,  the  sub- 
limity and  beauty  of  mountains  and  hills,  of  rivers 
and  the  sea,  of  trees  and  vines,  of  flowers  and  grass, 
of  clouds  and  storms,  of  birds  and  beasts,  as  they  are 
felt  by  poetic  and  devout  natures  in  our  day,  were 
imknown  to  the  people  of  antiquity,  with  the  single 
exception  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  Jesus  was  truly  a 
Hebrew.  He  loved  solitude,  as  the  great  prophets 
always  did.  He  "discerned  the  face  of  the  sky,"  and 
the  clothing  of  the  hills,  and  the  mystery  of  the  sea, 
as  well  as  the  processes  of  husbandry  and  the  ways 


AROUND  THE  SEA   OF  GALILEE.  419 

of  the  city.  His  resort  to  the  shore  was  not  merely 
for  purposes  of  lonely  meditation.  The  sea  was  the 
centre  of  active  commerce.  All  along  its  shore  busy 
towns  plied  their  industry.  The  fisheries  were  a 
source  of  great  profit.  The  surface  of  the  lake  was 
dotted  at  morning  and  evening  with  fleets  of  boats 
busy  in  fishing ;  others  darted  hither  and  thither, 
transporting  passengers  from  side  to  side  of  the  lake. 
On  its  peaceful  bosom,  too,  had  raged  naval  battles 
between  Roman  and  Jewish  galleys. 

Now  the  sea  is  almost  deserted.  Tiberias  yet  exists; 
but  the  long  belt  of  proud  and  busy  towns  that  en- 
compassed this  inland  lake  is  gone,  and  men  from 
distant  lands  grope  among  the  thorns  or  overgrown 
heaps  of  stone,  disputing  the  position  of  one  and 
another  city  which  in  the  days  of  Jesus  seemed  too 
strong  to  be  ever  wasted.  Both  around  the  sea  and 
in  all  the  country  far  away  on  each  side  of  it,  the 
cities  and  towns  have  utterly  perished.  Temples  and 
synagogues  are  gone.  Walls  of  towns  and  marble 
palaces  are  in  heaps.  The  architectural  ambition  of 
Herod,  the  city-building  aspirations  of  the  Greeks,  the 
engineering  achievements  of  the  Romans,  all  alike 
have  hopelessly  perished.  The  Lake  of  Genesareth  is 
without  a  boat.  Its  fish  swarm  immolested.  The  soil 
adjacent  runs  rankly  to  thorns  and  briers.  Only  a  few 
Arabs  hover  about  its  edges.  But  one  thing  remains; 
it  is  the  memory  of  Jesus.  The  sky,  the  surround- 
ing hills,  and  the  water  have  but  one  story  to  tell  the 
educated  traveller.  Jesus  still  wanders  slowly  along 
these  deserted  shores.  His  spirit  yet  walks  upon  these 
waters;  and  the  very  name  of  this  plain  and  solitary 
lake  sends  a  thrill  through  every  one  who  hears  it! 


420  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

Toward  evening,  after  a  day  of  great  labor,  Jesus 
resorted  to  the  shore  of  the  lake.  The  shadows  were 
falling  from  the  west,  and  coolness  was  coming  on  with 
night.  Across  the  lake  the  light  was  playing  on  the 
hills,  and  kindling  them  with  colors  rarely  seen  in 
any  other  locality.  If  Jesus  sought  solitude  for  medi- 
tation or  the  refreshment  of  a  walk,  he  was  disappoint- 
ed. Such  was  the  intense  interest  now  felt  in  all  his 
doings  that  the  sight  of  him  gathered  a  crowd.  We 
have  seen  before  how  at  tinias  the  multitude  so 
thronged  him  that  he  had  no  leisure  so  much  as  to  eat, 
that  his  family  could  not  by  any  effort  press  through  to 
his  side,  aJ|d  that  the  people  absolutely  trod  upon  one 
another ;  aM  now  so  great  was  the  throjig  upon  the 
sea-shore  tliM  he  took  refuge  in  a  boat,  and,  pushing 
out  a  little,  flight  them  from  this  novel  seat.  If 
we  suppose  thax  the  boat  had  been  drawn  up  in  some 
inlet,  then  the  audience  might  line  either  side,  and, 
from  the  rise  of  the  ground,  stand  on  successive  levels, 
as  in  a  natural  amphitheatre ;  so  that  the  "great  mul- 
titudes" "come  to  him  out  of  every  city"  could  easily 
be  within  speaking  distance.  We  are  to  remember, 
also,  that  the  region  of  this  lake  is  famed  for  the 
propagation  of  sound.-' 

As  soon  as  he  had  gained  a  favorable  position  for  his 
floating  pulpit,  he  began  to  instruct  the  people,  who 
seem  never  to  have  wearied  of  hearing  his  words,  and 

'  Macgrcgor,  iu  coasting  along  the  sea  in  the  famed  canoe  Rob  Roy, 
gives  an  account  of  a  running  conversation  with  an  Arab  travelling  on  shore 
■while  the  Rob  Roy  was  paddling  at  a  distance  of  three  hundred  yards  from 
him.  "It was  very  remarkable  how  distinctly  every  word  was  heard,  even 
at  three  hundred  yards  ofl";  and  it  was  very  easy  to  comprehend  how  in 
this  clear  air  a  preacher  sitting  in  a  boat  could  easily  be  heard  by  a  vast 
multitude  standing  upon  the  shore." —  The  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,  p.  328. 


AROUND  THE  SEA   OF  GALILEE.  421 

seldom  to  have  obeyed  them.  There  was  the  eager, 
fickle  multitude,  rapt  in  attention,  stirred  to  their  souls 
while  he  was  speaking.  Yet  their  consciousness  moved 
with  his.  How  beautiful,  while  he  spoke,  was  the 
holiness  of  the  kingdom  of  God !  How  noble  to 
break  away  from  evil  and  rise  to  the  serene  moods  of 
virtue !  But  how  transient  the  impression  on  their 
minds !  Before  the  darkness  fell  upon  the  sea,  forget- 
fulness  would  descend  upon  most  of  his  hearers.  A 
few  would  for  some  days  carry  a  heart  of  thoughtful 
purpose ;  but  secular  cares  would  soon  change  the  cur- 
rent, and  they  would  relapse  into  indifference.  Only 
here  and  there  a  single  one  would  receive  from  Jesus 
the  permanent  impulse  to  a  higher  life.  This  wasting 
away  of  moral  impressions  was  the  very  theme  of  his 
discourse.  Right  before  his  eyes  and  theirs  were  the 
materials  of  the  parable  which  pictured  the  truth. 

"  Hearken  :  Behold,  there  went  out  a  sower  to  sow 
his  seed :  and  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  sowed,  some  fell 
by  the  wayside,  and  it  was  trodden  down,  and  the  fowls 
of  the  air  came  and  devoured  it  up.  And  some  fell 
on  stony  ground  where  it  had  not  much  earth ;  and 
immediately  it  sprang  up,  because  it  had  no  depth  of 
earth :  but  as  soon  as  it  was  sprung  up,  when  the  sun 
was  up,  it  was  scorched ;  and  because  it  lacked  moisture 
and  had  no  root  it  withered  away.  And  some  fell 
among  thorns,  and  the  thorns  grew  up  with  it,  and 
choked  it,  and  it  yielded  no  fruit.  And  other  fell  on 
good  ground,  and  did  yield  fruit  that  sprang  up  and 
increased  ;  and  brought  forth,  some  an  hundred-fold, 
some  sixty-fold,  some  thirty-fold." 

The  grain-fields  were  not,  as  in  our  farming  districts, 
near  the  farmers'  dwellings,  but  remote  from  them,  so 


422  TUB  LIFE  OF  JESUS,  THE   CHRIST. 

that  the  sower  indeed  "  went  out "  to  sow ;  there  were 
only  paths,  narrow  and  often  rocky,  and  no  wide 
roads  with  fields  of  soil  on  either  side.  Patches  of 
thistles  and  jungles  of  thorns  sprang  up  in  spots,  and 
defied  extermination ;  while  the  ledges  of  rock  that 
broke  through  to  the  surface,  or  were  covered  by  a 
mere  film  of  soil,  furnished  another  element  of  this 
rural  picture. 

Although  truths  illustrated  by  this  parable  are  of 
continuous  efficacy  and  of  universal  application  in  the 
propagation  of  moral  forces  among  men,  yet  it  is 
easy  to  see  why  Jesus  should  have  felt  called  to  an- 
nounce such  truth  at  that  particular  time.  Brilliant 
in  many  respects  as  his  ministry  was,  what,  after  all, 
had  been  gained?  The  expectation  of  a  new  king- 
dom was  not  a  poetic  notion  among  thinking  Jews,  but 
a  deep  and  earnest  faith,  and  at  times  an  agonizing 
wish.  It  was  not  a  matter  to  be  trifled  with.  He  who 
claimed,  or  allowed  his  followers  to  believe,  that  he  was 
the  longed-for  One,  and  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
was  at  hand,  touched  the  heart  of  the  nation  to  the 
quick.  He  who  excited  hopes  that  verged  upon  fanat- 
icism must  not  expect  to  escape,  if  he  did  nothing  to 
justify  anticipations  which  he  had  aroused.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  a  spirit  of  impatience  was  springing  up.  The 
message  of  John  from  his  prison  is  one  indication  of 
it ;  another  is  the  impression  of  Jesus's  own  relatives, 
that  he  was  an  enthusiast,  acting  without  a  rational 
aim.  The  same  feeling  broke  out  a  little  later,  when 
his  brethren  again  interfered  with  him :  "  Go  into 
Juda)a,  that  thy  disciples  also  may  see  the  works  that 
thou  doest.  For  there  is  no  man  that  doetli  any- 
thing in  secret,  and  he  himself  seeketh  to  be  known 


AROUND  THE  SEA   OF  GALILEE.  423 

openly.  If  thou  do  these  things "  (i.  e.  if  there  is  no 
deceit  in  these  miracles,  and  they  are  what  they 
seem  to  be),  "  show  thyself  to  the  world."  (John 
vii.  3,  4.) 

That  a  feeling  of  secret  and  growing  dissatisfaction 
existed,  there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt.  Nor  are  we  to 
leave  out  of  consideration  the  working  of  another 
thing,  the  failure  of  Jesus  to  convince  or  win  the 
educated  and  religious  portion  of  the  community.  It 
would  be  said,  and  felt  far  more  often  than  said,  "This 
man  has  the  art  of  stirring  up  the  ignorant  crowd; 
but  what  does  it  all  amount  to  ?  They  gather  to-day, 
and  are  gone  to-morrow.  He  comes  down  on  the 
people  like  a  gust  of  wind  upon  yonder  sea.  The 
waves  roll,  the  whole  sea  is  alive ;  but  in  an  hour  the 
wind  is  down,  and  the  lake  is  just  as  it  was  before. 
It  is  only  a  momentary  excitement  among  ignorant 
men.  He  makes  no  head  with  those  who  are  intelli- 
gent. Why  don't  he  convince  those  whose  business 
it  is  to  study  the  truth  ?  " 

To  meet  this  mood,  Jesus  expounds  in  the  parable 
of  the  sower  the  nature  of  moral  teaching.  Imme- 
diate results  are  no  test  of  the  reality  of  the  truth. 
The  new  kingdom  is  to  come  by  growth,  and  not  by 
miracle.  Truth,  like  seed,  is  to  be  sown,  subject  to  aU 
the  conditions  of  human  nature.  The  worldly  cares, 
the  sordid  passions,  have,  as  it  were,  beaten  hard  paths 
along  the  life  of  men.  The  Divine  truth  falls  upon 
these  ways  of  selfishness,  or  of  avarice,  or  of  hatred ; 
but  there  is  nothing  in  them  to  grasp  it.  It  lies 
like  seed  in  a  trodden  path ;  and  as  birds  devour  such 
seed,  uncovered,  exposed,  before  it  can  hide  its  roots 
or  send  up  a  stem,  so  truth,  falling  on  uncongenial 


424  "THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,  THE  CHRIST. 

minds,  rolls  off,  or  is  dispersed  and  consumed  by  gad- 
ding and  hungry  world-thoughts.  Or,  it  may  be  in 
the  crowd  that  swarms  around  the  teachers  are  many 
whose  hearts  are  more  kindly,  but  they  lack  force. 
The  truth  is  readily  accepted,  but  there  is  no  deep 
moral  nature  into  which  its  roots  may  penetrate.  In- 
tense feeling  and  vivid  imagination  flourish  for  a  day, 
and  then  languish,  perish,  and  disappear.  In  the  case 
of  other  natures,  the  truth  finds  a  bed  in  which  to  be 
planted,  but  one  where  weeds  also  have  found  root ; 
and  as  in  nature  that  which  spends  its  strength  in 
fruit  or  grain  has  not  strength  to  cope  with  that 
which  gives  little  to  its  fruit,  and  spends  all  on  its 
robust  leaves  and  stem,  the  rank  growth  chokes  the 
tender  grain.  A  few  hearts  only  are  like  good  soil, 
well  tended,  capable  of  developing  the  truth-germ  to 
its  full  form. 

Thus  the  moral  teacher  finds  himself  limited  by 
hard  natures  that  will  not  receive  truth  at  all,  by 
vivacious  and  fickle  natures  that  retain  no  impressions 
long,  and  by  strong  natures  preoccupied  with  worldly 
interests;  while  he  finds  only  a  few  which  are  in 
condition  to  understand,  entertain,  and  deal  fairly  with 
the  truth.  Hardness,  shallowness,  and  preoccupation 
are  perpetual  hindrances. 

This  parable  of  the  sower  was  an  illustration  of  an 
important  fact  respecting  the  progress  of  moral  truth ; 
but  it  was  also  an  answer  to  those  who  expected  Jesus 
to  bring  in  the  new  kingdom  by  the  exertion  of  super- 
natural forces.  It  gave  the  clew  to  the  reason  why  no 
larger  results  followed  so  great  an  excitement.  Taken 
in  connection  with  the  abundance  of  his  miracles,  it 
has  peculiar  significance.     Jesus  wrought  no  miracle 


'.  AROUND  THE  SEA   OF  GALILEE.  425 

upon  the  human  soul.  He  distinctly  marked  the  line 
between  the  physical  realm  and  the  spiritual.  Upon 
matter  he  laid  a  hand  of  power ;  for  that  was  to  treat 
it  according  to  its  own  nature.  The  human  soul  he 
left  to  its  own  freedom,  approaching  it  only  by  moral 
influences ;  that  was  to  treat  the  soul  according  to  its 
nature. 

In  no  instance  did  he  seek  to  secure  moral  results 
by  direct  power.  By  his  will  he  changed  water  to 
wine,  but  never  pride  to  humility.  He  multiplied  a 
few  loaves  into  great  abundance  of  bread,  but  never 
converted  the  slender  stores  of  ignorance  into  the 
riches  of  knowledge.  The  fury  of  the  sea  he  allayed 
by  a  word,  but  the  storms  of  human  passion  he  never 
controlled  by  his  irresistible  will.  During  his  whole 
career,  there  is  not  an  instance  in  which  the  two 
realms  of  matter  and  of  mind  were  confounded,  or  their 
respective  laws  disregarded.  His  miracles  were  natu- 
ral, and  his  teaching  was  natural.  The  former  man- 
aged physical  nature  according  to  its  genius,  and  the 
latter  reached  out  to  the  human  soul  according  to 
its  peculiar  constitution ;  and  both  of  them  are  ad- 
mirable illustrations  of  a  conformity  to  nature,  in  a 
sense  far  more  intensive  and  radical  than  is  usually 
attached  to  that  phrase. 

It  is  for  those  who  regard  the  Gospels  as  the  gradual 
unfolding  of  myths,  having  perhaps  a  germ  of  fact,  to 
explain  how,  in  early  ages,  and  among  ignorant  and 
superstitious  men,  this  nice  distinction  between  the 
two  great  realms  of  creation  should  have  been  invari- 
ably maintained.  If  the  Gospels  are  not  a  true  his- 
tory of  a  real  Jesus,  written  by  the  men  whose  names 
they  bear,  but  are  the  product  of  superstition  gradu- 


426  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

ally  acting  through  a  long  period,  how  is  it  that  so 
fine  an  abstinence  from  miracles  upon  the  human  soul 
should  have  been  observed  by  men  who  evidently 
had  an  eager  appetite  for  wonders,  and  who  filled 
their  history  with  marvels  without  number,  but  al- 
ways miracles  wrought  upon  matter,  and  never  once 
upon  the  spirit  of  man  ? 

It  is  true  that  Jesus  made  way  for  his  spiritual  teach- 
ing by  the  exercise  of  power  upon  the  infirmities  of 
the  body.  But  that  was  only  a  preparation  for  instruc- 
tion, as  ploughing  is  for  seed-sowing.  The  furrow  was 
opened,  but  the  seed  was  left  to  germinate  by  its  own 
nature  and  laws.  This  remarkable  subordination  of 
physical  force  to  moral  influence  pervaded  his  whole 
Hfe  and  ministry.  He  exercised  his  authority  to  for- 
give sins,  but  never  his  power  to  reform  the  sinner. 
Diseases  of  the  body  were  ^peremptorily  cured;  but 
the  sores  and  fevers  of  the  soul  could  not  be  arbitra- 
rily healed.  By  his  coercive  power  he  often  cast  out 
demons;  but  evil  dispositions,  never.  Between  the 
teaching  of  Jesus  and  that  of  rabbi  or  jDhilosopher  the 
difference  was  that  of  substance,  not  merely  of  method. 
He  addressed  truth  to  the  understanding,  motives  to 
the  will,  and  feeling  to  the  emotions.  Not  only  was 
he  patient  with  the  tardy  results,  but,  in  all  his  min- 
istry, he  acted  as  one  who  left  his  cause  to  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  ages. 

If  one  will  compare  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  with 
the  teaching  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Matthew,  he 
will  see  a  reason  why  the  disciples  should  be  struck 
with  his  altered  method,  and  why  they  should  inquire 
from  Jesus  the  reason  of  so  large  a  use  of  the  parable. 
The  spirit  of  the  reply  will  be  better  understood,  if 


AROUND  TEE  SEA   OF  GALILEE.  4,2'J 

we  consider  it  as  a  statement  of  his  reasons  for  not 
employing  an  open  didactic  method.  The  parable  was, 
under  the  circumstances,  more  likely  to  inspire  curi- 
osity and  to  lead  perhaps,  by  and  by,  to  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth.  His  disciples  were  within  the  new 
kingdom,  by  virtue  of  their  sensibility  to  moral  ideas. 
They  who  from  conceit  or  lack  of  feeling  rejected 
spiritual  truth  were  "  without."  To  them  there  could 
be  no  instruction,  because  there  was  no  susceptibility 
to  moral  truth.  Words  fell  upon  such  as  seed  upon  a 
beaten  path.  As  there  is  something  in  the  eye  waiting 
for  the  light,  and  in  the  ear  prepared  for  sound,  and  in 
the  body  ready  to  digest  and  assimilate  food,  so  there 
must  be  in  the  soul  some  pre-existing  fitness  for  truth. 
Where  the  universal  moral  sense  is  kept  clear  and 
practical,  the  soul  will  increase  in  moral  excellence. 
But  when  it  is  abused,  it  will  lose  sensibility  and  waste 
away.  "  He  answered  and  said  unto  them,  Because  it 
is  given  unto  you  to  know  the  mysteries  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  but  to  them  it  is  not  given.  For  who- 
soever hath,  to  him  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have 
more  abundance  :  but  whosoever  hath  not,  from  him 
shall  be  taken  away  even  that  he  hath.  Therefore 
speak  I  to  them  in  parables :  because  they  seeing  see 
not ;  and  hearing  they  hear  not,  neither  do  they 
understand." 

In  illustration  of  this  view,  Jesus  quotes  from  Isaiah 
(vi.  9)  a  passage  which,  judged  from  its  face  alone, 
would  seem  to  say  that  Jesus  taught  in  j^arables  for 
the  purpose  of  actively  blinding  those  who  were 
"without,"  and  securing  their  destruction  by  hiding  the 
saving  truth  from  their  minds.  But  this  is  abhorrent 
to  every  sentiment  of  honor  or  justice,  utterly  irrecon- 


428  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

cilable  with  the  very  errand  of  Jesus  into  the  world, 
and  the  direct  opposite  of  that  disposition  of  pity  and 
love  which  he  not  only  taught,  but  manifested  all  his 
life  long.  The  true  heart  of  Jesus  was  expressed  at  a 
later  period  in  these  words :  "  How  often  would  I  have 
gathered  thy  children  ....  but  ye  would  not." 

A  parable  was  adapted  to  arouse  the  curiosity  of 
even  the  hardened,  and  to  excite  reflection  in  men's 
minds,  arid  so  ultimately  bring  them  to  the  truth  bet- 
ter than  would  didactic  instruction.  Men  will  remem- 
ber an  illustration  when  they  would  forget  a  principle. 
The  parable,  so  far  from  being  an  instrument  for 
blinding,  was  better  adapted  to  give  light  than  would 
be  the  unillustrated  statement  of  spiritual  things.  At 
the  same  time,  it  put  the  truth  in  such  a  form  that 
those  who  were  lying  in  wait  to  catch  Jesus  in  his 
words  would  find  nothing  upon  which  to  lay  hold. 

The  discourse  of  Jesus  was  not  delivered  to  a  mere 
peasant  audience.  There  were  those  present  capable 
of  acute  criticism.  They  had  kept  up  with  the  cur- 
rent of  Jewish  thought.  They  would  be  likely  to  say, 
"  This  kingdom,  —  this  new  notion  of  a  kingdom  that 
no  one  can  see,  that  has  no  outward  show,  —  pray,  how 
shall  one  know  whether  it  is  present  or  absent  ?  " 

And  he  said,  So  is  the  Jdngdom  of  God,  as  if  a  jnan 
shoidd  cast  seed  into  the  (/round ;  and  shoidd  sleep,  and  rise 
night  and  day,  and  the  seed  shoidd  spring  and  groiv  up,  he 
knoweth  not  hoiv.  For  the  earth  lyringcth  forth  fruit  of  her- 
self, first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after  that  thefidl  corn  in  the 
ear.  But  zvhcn  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  immediately  he  put- 
teth  in  the  sickle,  because  the  harvest  is  come. 

The  realm  of  the  disposition  or  heart,  of  which  Paul 
says,  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink, 


AROUND  THE  SEA   OF  GALILEE.  429 

but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  does  not  march  in  as  armies  do,  but  develops 
by  stages  of  evolution,  as  do  plants.  "Yet  surely," 
they  would  say,  "there  should  be  some  beginning  to  it! 
Is  there  no  starting-point  to  this  mysterious  kingdom  ? 
It  is  to  be  a  vast,  earth-filling  kingdom,  —  where  are 
its  elements?  Are  there  no  materials  which  show  a 
preparation  ?  "     In  reply  to  such  queries, 

Another  parable  put  he  forth  unto  them,  saying.,  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  like  to  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  ivhich  a  man 
took,  and  soived  in  his  field :  which  indeed  is  the  least  of  all 
seeds :  hut  ivhen  it  is  grown,  it  is  the  greatest  among  herhs, 
and  hecomdh  a  tree,  so  that  the  birds  of  the  air  come  and 
lodge  in  the  branches  thereof 

"  Ah,  it  is  an  influence  then,"  they  said.  "  But 
where  is  the  working  of  that  influence  ?  " 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  tvhich  a  tvoman 
took,  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,  till  the  ivhole  tvas 
leavened. 

It  is  silent  influence.  It  works  within  the  heart. 
The  woman  neither  sees  nor  hears  what  is  going  on 
in  the  dough ;  yet  in  the  morning  it  is  leavened. 
Thus  the  Divine  influence  is  silently  working  in  the 
souls  of  men. 

"This  motley  crowd,  is  this  your  kingdom?  Are 
these  all  good  men  ?  Ragged,  squalid,  mean,  mixed 
of  all  nations,  running  after  you  from  curiosity,  or  in 
hope  of  some  gain,  or  for  an  interested  purpose, — 
do  you  pretend  that  God's  kingdom  is  made  up  of 
such?" 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net,  that  tvas  cast 
into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every  kind :  ivhich,  when  it 
was  full,  they  drew  to  shore,  and  sat  down,  and  gathered  the 


430  T^^  ^^^^  ^^  JESUS,  THE   CHRIST. 

good  into  vessels,  hut  cast  the  lad  away.  So  shall  it  be  at  the 
end  of  the  tvorld :  the  angels  shall  come  forth,  and  sever  the 
wicked  from  among  the  just,  and  shall  cast  them  into  the  fur- 
nace of  fire :  there  shall  he  ivailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

"  At  the  end  of  the  world  ?  That  is  a  long  time  to 
wait !  Why  do  you  not  select  and  enroll  your  follow- 
ers ?  Why  not  at  once  cast  away  from  you  all  unwor- 
thy persons,  and  register  the  clearly  good  ? " 

To  this  Jesus  replies  that  the  thing  cannot  be  done. 
The  church  will  always  have  unworthy  members,  the 
kingdom  of  God  on  earth  will  always  be  represented 
by  rude  and  imperfect  materials  :  — 

Another  parable  put  he  forth  unto  them,  saying,  The  Jcing- 
dom  of  heaven  is  likened  unto  a  man  ivhich  sowed  good  seed  in 
his  field :  hut  while  men  slept,  Ms  enemy  came  and  sotved  tares 
among  the  wheat,  and  ivent  his  ivay.  But  ivhen  the  blade  was 
sprung  up,  and  brought  forth  fruit,  then  appeared  the  tares 
also.  So  the  servants  of  the  householder  came  and  said  unto 
him,  Sir,  didst  not  thou,  soiv  good  seed  in  thy  field?  from 
whence  then  hath  it  tares  ?  He  said  unto  them.  An  enemy 
hath  done  this.  The  servants  said  unto  him.  Wilt  thou  then 
that  tve  go  and  gather  them  up  ?  But  he  said.  Nay ;  lest 
zvhile  ye  gather  up  the  tares,  ye  root  up  also  the  wheat  with 
them.  Let  both  groiv  together  until  the  harvest :  and  in  the 
time  of  harvest  I  tvill  say  to  the  reapers.  Gather  ye  together 
first  the  tares,  and  bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn  them  :  but 
gather  the  ivheat  into  my  barn. 

While  all  things  are  imperfect,  the  separation  of 
good  and  bad  is  impossible.  When  all  things  are  ripe, 
there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  securing  the  wheat. 

Insignificant  and  valueless  as  a  share  in  this  in- 
visible new  kingdom  might  seem  to  men  greedy  of 
gain  or  inflamed  with  ambition,  there  was  nothing  in 


AROUND  THE  SEA  OF  GALILEE.  431 

life  to  compare  with  it.  One  miglit  well  give  all  his 
time,  his  influence,  and  his  means,  to  be  possessed 
ofit:  — 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  imio  treasure  hid  in  a  field; 
the  which  lohen  a  man  hath  found,  he  hideth,  and  for  joy 
thereof  goeth  and  selleth  all  that  he  hath,  and  huyeth  thai 
field. 

What  are  houses,  lands,  and  money  worth  to  a 
heart  stirred  up  with  discontent?  A  heart  at  peace, 
or  overflowing  with  joy,  can  better  be  without  world- 
ly goods,  than  have  riches  without  heart  happiness ! 
Many  a  man,  outwardly  hard  and  rugged  as  the  oyster- 
shell,  carries  within  him  a  pearl  of  exceeding  worth :  — 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  merchant-man  seeking 
goodly  inarls :  tvho,  ivhen  he  had  found  one  pearl  of  great 
2orice,  went  and  sold  all  that  he  had,  and  bought  it. 

It  is  likely  that  not  a  single  j)erson  of  his  audience 
gained  a  clear  idea  of  God's  spirit-kingdom,  but  it  is 
still  less  probable  that  any  left  the  shore  of  Galilee 
that  day  without  the  beginnings  of  new  thoughts, 
which  from  that  time  forth  began  to  leaven  their 
minds. 

It  is  a  difficult  task  even  now,  after  so  many  hun- 
dred years  of  experience,  to  expound  to  unknowing 
hearts  the  meaning  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  so  that 
they  shall  comprehend  it.  It  was  yet  more  difficult 
in  the  days  of  the  Son  of  Man.  But,  with  all  our 
progress  in  knowledge,  we  still  go  back  to  these  para- 
bles of  Jesus  as  the  easiest  and  clearest  exj)ositions 
of  his  kingdom  that  can  be  received,  —  not  through 
the  hearing  of  the  ear,  but  only  by  the  understanding 
heart. 


432  THE  LIFE   OF  JESUS,   THE   CHRIST. 

The  Voice  ceased.  The  crowd  disappeared.  The 
light  that  had  sparkled  along  the  waters  and  fired  the 
distant  hills  went  out.  Twilight  came  on ;  the  even- 
ing winds  whispered  among  the  rustling  reeds,  and  the 
ripples  gurgling  upon  the  beach  answered  them  in 
liquid  echoes.  The  boom  of  the  solitary  bittern  came 
over  the  waters,  and  now  and  then,  as  darkness  fell 
upon  the  lake,  the  call  of  the  fishermen,  at  their  night- 
toil.  The  crowd  dispersed.  The  world  received  its 
own  again.  With  the  darkness  came  forgetfulness, 
leaving  but  a  faint  memory  of  the  Voice  or  of  its 
teachings,  as  of  a  wind  whispering  among  the  fickle 
reeds.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  throng,  like  the  last 
rays  of  the  sun,  died  out;  and  their  hearts,  like  the 
sea,  again  sent  incessant  desires  murmuring  and  com- 
plaining to  the  shore 


APPENDIX. 


THE  GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


UsTTEODUCTIOE". 


Luke  i.  1-4.  Ij  ^OEASMUCH  as  many  have  taken  in  hand  to  set 
J-  forth  in  order  a  declaration  of  those  things  which 
are  most  surely  believed  among  us,  even  as  they  deliv- 
ered them  unto  us,  which  from  the  beginning  were  eye- 
witnesses, and  ministers  of  the  word ;  it  seemed  good 
to  me  also,  having  had  perfect  understanding  of  all 
things  from  the  very  first,  to  write  unto  thee  in  order, 
most  excellent  Theophilus,  that  thou  mightest  know 
the  certainty  of  those  things,  wherein  thou  hast  been 
instructed.^ 


PEEFACE. 


npHE  object  of  this  compilation  has  been  to  consolidate  the  matter 
-*-  of  the  four  Gospels  so  as  to  form  it  into  one  continuous  narra- 
tive, and  at  the  same  time  to  enable  the  reader  to  ascertain  with 
facility  the  source  from  which  each  part  has  been  derived. 

In  the  construction  of  this  narrative,  every  word  of  each  Gospel 
has  been  incorporated,  except  where  the  same  words  are  found  con- 
currently in  more  than  one  Gospel,  or  where  the  forms  of  concurrent 
expressions  are  such  as  not  to  admit  of  their  coalescing :  in  the  lat- 
ter case  the  words  not  incorporated  in  the  text  are  noted  in  the 
margin.  In  this  way  every  word  of  all  the  four  Gospels  will  be 
found  either  in  the  text  or  in  the  margin. 

It  has  been  necessary  to  add  certain  words,  and  been  thought 
advisable  to  substitute  others,  in  order  to  preserve  the  sense,  or  the 
grammatical  construction:  the  words  added  and  substituted  are, 
however,  carefully  noted,  and  distinguished  from  those  taken  from 
the  Gospels. 

The  nature  of  the  compilation  has  made  crudeness  and  tautology, 
in  many  places,  unavoidable ;  but  these  defects  of  style  have  been 
thought  of  less  moment  than  that  loss  of  authenticity  which  would 
necessarily  have  resulted  from  an  extensive  modification  of  the  text. 

The  verbal  accuracy  of  the  authorized  version  of  the  Gospels  is 
assumed,  and  no  criticism  or  comment  is  attempted. 

The  main  endeavor  has  been,  by  placing  the  Gospel  narrative 
before  the  reader  in  the  form  in  which  other  narratives  are  now 
usually  written,  to  enable  him,  unconsciously  as  it  were,  to  receive 


436  PREFACE. 

all  the  information  fumislied  by  the  four  Gospels  combined,  without 
the  labor  and  distraction  of  consulting  the  several  Gospels  ;  and,  at 
the  same  time,  to  facilitate  reference  to  the  Gospels  themselves  for 
verification  of  the  text. 

The  arbitrary  division  of  the  Scriptures  into  chapters  and  verses 
makes  a  greater  demand  upon  the  attention  of  the  reader  than  does 
a  narrative  in  the  usual  form ;  and  the  comparison  of  different  par- 
allel accounts,  even  with  the  assistance  of  a  Harmony,  involves  such 
additional  concentrated  attention  as  can  be  looked  for  only  in  the 
earnest  biblical  student.  This  compilation,  it  is  hoped,  -will  enable 
even  a  casual  reader  to  follow  out  the  thread  of  the  Gospel  history, 
without  effort  or  distraction. 

An  explanation  of  the  system  of  arrangement  adopted  is  subjoined, 
and  a  reference  table  is  added,  by  which  it  can  be  ascertained  in 
what  part  of  the  work  the  chapters  and  verses  of  the  different  Gos- 
pels are  incorporated. 

A  full  Index  to  the  Gospel  history  is  also  appended.* 

F.  T.  H. 

South  Hampstead,  1869. 

*  It  has  been  thought  best  to  quote  the  compiler's  prefatory  explanation  en- 
tire, but  the  Reference  Table  and  Index  mentioned  are  not  included  in  the  pres- 
ent Appendix  to  "  The  Life  of  Jesus,  the  Christ." 


EXPLAE'ATIOI^. 


THE  fionre  0  in  the  text  indicates  that  the  portion  preceding  it  has  been 
taken  from  St.  Matthew's  Gospel.  In  like  manner  the  figures  0,  C),  and 
O  indicate  the, Gospel  from  which  the  portions  preceding  them  are  taken, 
0  indicating  St.  Mark's,  f)  St.  Luke's,  and  C)  St.  John's  Gospel. 

The  fi^'-ures  C),  0,  C),  and  (*)  after  the  words  in  the  margin  indicate  m  hke  man- 
ner the  (Gospels  in  which  such  words  are  found,  in  lieu  of  the  words  to 
which  the  notes  of  reference  are  appended. 

The  figure  C)  indicates  that  the  words  preceding  it  are  not  found  in  any  of  the 
four  Gospels,  but  have  been  either  introduced  or  substituted. 

The  chapters  and  verses  quoted  in  the  margin  show  what  portions  of  each  Gos- 
pel are  incorporated  in  each  particular  page. 


EXAMPLE. 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

Parables — the  Sower  —  the  Tares  and  the  Wheat  —  the  Grow-  Marki^^i.io. ' 
ij^g  Seed  — the   Grain  of  Mustard  Seed  — the  Leaven—  Luke7ui_4-9. 
the  Hid  Treasure  — the  Pearl  of  Great  Price  — the  Net 
and  Fishes. 

THE   same  day  went  Jesus  out  of  the  house,  and  sat 

by  the  seaside,!  ^^^  te  began  again  to  teach.^     And"  l^^^^^'^'^ 

great  multitudes  were^  gathered  together  unto  him,i  and  S'^^^^^^'^jJ^J^f;- " 
were  come  to  him  out  of  every  city,^  so  that  he  went"  into     wre.3  ^ 

a  ship,  and  sat^  in  the  sea;"  and  the  whole  multitude  stood  ^waTby  the  sea 

on  the  shore.-^     And  he  spake  many  things  unto  them,i  ^  on^the^iaud.^a 
and^  tauo-ht  them"  in  parables,"  saying  ^Z  unto  them  in  his     by  a  parable,  s 

^  /and  said.  2 

doctrine," 

The  figure  C)  in  the  second  Hne  indicates  that  aU  that  precedes  is  taken  from 
St,  Matthew. 


438  EXPLANATION. 

The  figure  0  in  the  same  line  indicates  that  the  words  "  and  he  began  again 

to  teach  "  are  taken  from  St.  Mark. 
The  figure  Q)  in  the  third  hne  indicates  that  the  words  "And  great  multitudes 

were  gathered  together  unto  him  "  are  taken  fi-om  St.  Matthew. 
The  figure  f)  in  the  fourth  line  indicates  that  the  words  "  and  were  come  to  him 

out  of  every  city  "  are  taken  from  St.  Luke. 
In  the  same  way  it  wiU  be  understood  that  the  words, 

"  so  that  he  went  into  a  ship,  and  sat  "  are  from  St.  Matthew. 

"in  the  sea";  "        St.  Mark. 

"  and  the  whole  multitude  stood  on  ^ 

the    shore.     And   he  spake  many  V         "        St.  Matthew. 

things  unto  them  "  ) 

"taught  them"  »        St.  Mark. 

"  in  parables,  saying "  "        St.  Matthew. 

"  unto  them  in  his  doctrine,"  "         St.  Mark. 

The  figure  0  in  the  seventh  line  indicates  that  the  word  "  and  "is  not  to  be 

found  in  either  Gospel,  but  has  been  introduced. 
"Matt.  xiii.  1-10. -j^    ,. 
Mark    iv      1-10  ( -'-^"^^^te  that  these  portions  of  those  particular  Gospels  are 

T    ,        •••      i    r.  n  C      incorporated  in  that  pao-e. 
Luke  vui.    4-9.    ;  ^   ° 

Note  a,  indicates  that  in  St.  Luke  the  words  "And  when  "  occur  instead  of  the 

word  "  And." 
"     h,  that  in  St.  Mark  the  words  "  there  was  a  great  multitude,"  and  that  in 

St.  Luke  the  words  "much  people  were,"  occur  instead  of  the  words 

"  great  multitudes  were." 
"     c,  that  in  St.  Mark  the  word  "  entered  "  occurs  instead  of  the  word  "  went." 
"     d,  that  in  St.  Mark  the  words  "  was  by  the  sea  on  the  land  "  occur  instead 

of  the  words  "stood  on  the  shore." 
"    e,  that  in  St.  Mark  the  words  "  by  parables,"  and  in  St.  Luke  the  words 

"  by  a  parable,"  occur  instead  of  the  words  "  in  parables." 
"    /,  that  in  St.  Mark  the  words  "  and  said,"  occur  instead  of  the  word  "say- 


TABLE  OF  OOI^TES"TS. 


Pagb 

Chapter  .  .^ 

I.     The  Divinity  of  Jesus  Christ ^^ 

II.     The  Birth  of  John  the  Baptist  and  the  Birth  of  Jesus  foretold, 

and  the  Meeting  of  Mary  and  Elisabeth 442 

III.  Birth  and  Circumcision  of  John  the  Baptist         ....  445 

IV.  Birth  and  Circumcision  of  Jesus  Christ 446 

V.     The  Genealogies  of  Jesus  Cln:ist 449 

VI.     The  Infancy  of  Jesus  Christ 452 

VII.     The  Preaching  of  John  the  Baptist 455 

VIII.     The  Baptism  of  Jesus  Cln-ist,  and  his  Temptation  .         .         .         .457 
IX.     The  Testunony  of  John  the  Baptist  to  Jesus,  and  the  CaUing  of  the 

first  Disciples 459 

X.     The  Marriage  at  Cana.  —  Journey  to  Jerusalem.  —  The  Casting 

out  of  the  Traders  from  the  Temple 461 

XI.     Jesus  and  Nicodemus.  —  Further  Testimony  of  the  Baptist       .  463 
XII.     Imprisonment  of  John  the  Baptist.  —  Return  of  Jesus  to  Galilee. 

—  Interview  with  the  Woman  of  Samaria  ....  465 

XIII.  The  Preaching  of  Jesus  in  Galilee.  —  Several  Miracles.  —  Calling 

of  several  Disciples 469 

XIV.  Healing  of  a  Leper,  and  ot  a  Paralytic 474 

XV.     Healing  of  a  Man  on  the  Sabbath,  and  consequent  Discussion        .     476 

XVI.     Christ's  Teaching   as   to  the   Sabbath.  — The   Ordination  of  the 

Twelve  Apostles 479 


440  TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 

XVIL    The  Sermon  on  the  Mount 482 

XVIII.     The  Heahng  of  the  Centurion's  Servant,  and  the  Eaismg  of  the 

Widow's  Son  at  ISTain 439 

XIX.  Jesus  and  the  Disciples  of  John  Baptist  —Jesus'  Testimony  of 
John  Baptist,  —  his  Condemnation  of  the  unbeheving  Cities. 
—  Jesus  anointed  by  a  Woman  at  a  Pharisee's  House     .         .491 

XX.  Another  Circuit  through  Gahlee.  —  Denunciation  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  on  the  Occasion  of  a  Devil  being  cast  out,  and 
of  a  Dinner  at  a  Pharisee's  House 495 


THE 


GOSPEL   HISTORY. 


CHAPTEE   I. 
The  Divinity  of  Jesus  Chrisv. 

THE  beginning  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  ^^^\  \  .  „ 
of  God.2  °14l  16-18.' 

In  the  beginning  was  the  "Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  The  same  was  in  the  begin- 
ning with  God.  All  things  were  made  by  him  ;  and  without 
him  was  not  anything  made  that  was  made.  In  him  was 
life ;  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men.  And  the  light 
shineth  in  darkness;  and  the  darkness  comprehended  it 
not.'' 

He^"  was  the  true  Light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that  oThat.* 
Cometh  into  the  world.  He  was  in  the  world,  and  the 
world  was  made  by  him,  and  the  world  knew  him  not.  He 
came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received  him  not.  But  as 
many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become 
the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name : 
which  were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh, 
nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.  And  the  Word  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,  (and  we  beheld  his  glory, 
the  glory  as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,)  full  of 
grace  and  truth.'*  And  of  his  fulness  have  all  we  received, 
and  grace  for  grace.  For  the  law  was  given  by  Moses,  but 
grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ.  No  man  hath  seen 
God  at  any  time  ;  the  only  begotten  Son,  which  is  iu  the 
bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath  declared  him.^ 


442  TEE  GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED 


CHAPTER    ir. 

The  Birth  of  John  the  Baptist  and  the  Birth  of  Jesus  fore- 
told, and  the  Meeting  of  Mary  and  Elisabeth. 


Johni^sl'is.  T^HERE  was  a  man  sent  from  God,  whose  name  was 
-L  John.  The  same  came  for  a  witness,  to  bear  witness 
of  the  Light,  that  aU  men  through  him  might  beheve.  He 
was  not  that  Light,  but  was  sent  to  bear  witness  of  that 
Light.*  John  bare  witness  of  him,  and  cried,  saying, 
"  This  was  he  of  whom  I  spake,  He  that  cometh  after  me  Is 
preferred  before  me  :  for  he  was  before  me."* 

There  was  in  the  days  of  Herod,  the  king  of  Judaa,  a 
certain  priest  named  Zacharias,  of  the  course  of  Abia :  and 
his  wife  was  of  the  daughters  of  Aaron,  and  her  name  was 
Elisabeth.  And  they  were  both  righteous  before  God, 
walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the 
Lord  blameless.  And  they  had  no  child,  because  that 
Elisabeth  was  barren,  and  they  both  were  now  well  stricken 
in  years. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  that  while  he  executed  the  priest's 
office  before  God  in  the  order  of  his  course,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  priest's  office,  his  lot  was  to  burn  incense 
when  he  went  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord.  And  the  whole 
multitude  of  the  people  were  praying  without  at  the  time 
of  incense.  And  there  appeared  unto  him  an  angel  of  the 
Lord  standing  on  the  right  side  of  the  altar  of  incense. 
And  when  Zacharias  saw  him,  he  was  troubled,  and  fear  fell 
upon  him. 

But  the  angel  said  imto  him, 

"  Fear  not,  Zacharias  :  for  thy  prayer  is  heard ;  and  thy 
wife  Elisabeth  shall  bear  thee  a  son,  and  thou  shalt  call  his 
name  '  John.'  And  thou  shalt  have  joy  and  gladness  ;  and 
many  shall  rejoice  at  his  birth.  For  he  shall  be  great  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  shall  drink  neither  wine  nor 
strong  drink ;  and  he  shall  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
even  from  his  mother's  womb.  And  many  of  the  children 
of  Israel  shall  he  turn  to  the  Lord  their  God.    And  he  shall^ 


ZA  CHART  AS.  —  GABRIEL.  443 

go  before  him  in  the  spirit  and  power  of^  Ehjah,^"  to  turn  I'Ukei.  17-32. 
the  hearts  of  the  fathers  to  the  children,  and  the  disobe-  "EUaa.s 
dient  to  the  wisdom  of  the  just;  to  make  ready  a  people 
prepared  for  the  Lord." 

And  Zacharias  said  unto  the  angel, 

*'  Whereby  shall  I  know  this  1  for  I  am  an  old  man,  and 
my  wife  w^ell  stricken  in  years." 

And  the  angel  answering  said  imto  him, 

"  I  am  Gabriel,  that  stand  in  the  presence  of  God ;  and 
am  sent  to  speak  unto  thee,  and  to  shew  thee  these  glad 
tidings.  And,  behold,  thou  shalt  be  dumb,  and  not  able  to 
speak,  until  the  day  that  these  things  shall  be  performed, 
because  thou  believest  not  my  words,  which  shall  be  ful- 
filled in  their  season." 

And  the  people  waited  for  Zacharias,  and  marvelled  that 
he  tarried  so  long  in  the  temple.  And  when  he  came  out, 
he  could  not  speak  unto  them :  and  they  perceived  that  he 
had  seen  a  vision  in  the  temple  :  for  he  beckoned  unto 
them,  and  remained  speechless. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  as  soon  as  the  days  of  his 
ministration  were  accomplished,  he  departed  to  his  own 
house. 

And  after  those  days  his  wife  Elisabeth  conceived,  and 
hid  herself  five  months,  saying, 

"  Thus  hath  the  Lord  dealt  with  me  in  the  days  wherein 
he  looked  on  me,  to  take  away  my  reproach  among  men." 

And  in  the  sixth  month  the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  from 
God  imto  a  city  of  Galilee,  named  Nazareth,  to  a  virgin 
espoused  to  a  man  whose  name  was  Joseph,  of  the  house  of 
David ;  and  the  virgin's  name  was  Mary. 

And  the  angel  came  in  unto  her,  and  said, 

"  Hail,  thou  that  art  highly  favored,  the  Lord  is  with 
thee  :  blessed  art  thou  among  women." 

And  when  she  saw  him,  she  was  troubled  at  his  saying, 
and  cast  in  her  mind  what  manner  of  salutation  this 
should  be. 

And  the  angel  said  unto  her, 

"  Fear  not,  Mary  :  for  thou  hast  found  favor  with  God. 
And,  behold,  thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb,  and  bring 
forth  a  son,  and  shalt  call  his  name  '  Jesus.'     He  shall  be  ' 


444  THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 

Luke  i^-51.  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest :  and  the 
Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father 
David  :  and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever ; 
and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end." 

Then  said  Mary  unto  the  angel, 

"  How  shall  this  be,  seeing  I  know  not  a  man  ?  " 

And  the  angel  answered  and  said  unto  her, 

"  The  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power 
of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee  :  therefore  also  that 
holy  thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the 
Son  of  God.  And,  behold,  thy  cousin  Elisabeth,  she  hath 
also  conceived  a  son  in  her  old  age  :  and  this  is  the  sixth 
month  with  her,  who  was  called  barren.  For  with  God 
nothing  shall  be  impossible." 

And  Mary  said, 

"  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord ;  be  it  unto  me  ac- 
cording to  thy  word." 

And  the  angel  departed  from  her. 

And  Mary  arose  in  those  days,  and  went  into  the  hill 
ajuda.8  country  with  haste,  into  a  city  of^  Judah  ;^"  and  entered 

into  the  house  of  Zacharias,  and  saluted  Elisabeth.  And  it 
came  to  pass,  that,  when  Elisabeth  heard  the  salutation  of 
Mary,  the  babe  leaped  in  her  womb ;  and  Elisabeth  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost :  and  she  spake  out  with  a  loud 
voice,  and  said, 

"  Blessed  art  thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the  fruit 
of  thy  womb.  And  whence  is  this  to  me,  that  the  mother 
of  my  Lord  should  come  to  mel  for,  lo,  as  soon  as  the 
voice  of  thy  salutation  sounded  in  mine  ears,  the  babe 
leaped  in  my  womb  for  joy.  And  blessed  is  she  that 
believed  :  for  there  shall  be  a  performance  of  those  things 
■which  were  told  her  from  the  Lord." 

And  Mary  said, 

"My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit  hath 
rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviom*,  For  he  hath  regarded  the  low 
estate  of  his  handmaiden  :  for,  behold,  from  henceforth  all 
generations  shall  call  me  blessed.  For  he  that  is  mighty 
hath  done  to  me  great  things  j  and  holy  is  his  name.  And 
his  mercy  is  on  them  that  fear  him  from  generation  to 
generation.     He  hath  shewed  strength  with  his  ai-m ;  he ' 


BIRTH  OF  JOHN.  445 

hath  scattered  the  proud  in  the  imagination  of  their  hearts.  Lu^ei.  61-56. 
He  hath  put  down  the  mighty  from  their  seats,  and  exalted 
them  of  low  degree.  He  hath  filled  the  hungry  with  good 
things ;  and  the  rich  he  hath  sent  empty  away.  He  hath 
holpen  his  servant  Israel,  in  remembrance  of  his  mercy ;  as 
he  spake  to  our  fathers,  to  Abraham,  and  to  his  seed  for- 
ever." 

And  Mary  abode  with  her  about  three  months,  and  re- 
turned to  her  own  house.^ 


CHAPTER    III. 

Birth  and  Circumcision  of  John  the  Baptist. 

'^KTO'W  Elisabeth's  full  time  came  that  she  should  be  de-  Luke  i.  67-67. 
-i-^     livered;  and   she   brought   forth   a   son.     And   her 
neighbors  and  her  cousins  heard  how  the  Lord  had  shewed 
great  mercy  upon  her  ;  and  they  rejoiced  with  her. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  that  on  the  eighth  day  they  came  to 
circumcise  the  child ;  and  they  called  him  Zacharias,  after 
the  name  of  his  father. 

And  his  mother  answered  and  said, 

"  Not  so  ;  but  he  shall  be  called  '  John.' " 

And  they  said  unto  her, 

"There  is  none  of  thy  kindred  that  is  called  by  this 
name." 

And  they  made  signs  to  his  father,  how  he  would  have 
him  called.  And  he  asked  for  a  writing-table,  and  wrote, 
saying, 

"  His  name  is  John." 

And  they  marvelled  all.  And  his  mouth  was  opened 
immediately,  and  his  tongue  loosed,  and  he  spake,  and 
praised  God.  And  fear  came  on  all  that  dwelt  round  about 
them  :  and  all  these  sayings  were  noised  abroad  throughout 
all  the  hill  country  of  Judeea.  And  all  they  that  heard 
them  laid  them  up  in  their  hearts,  saying, 

"  What  manner  of  child  shall  this  be  !  " 

And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with* him. 

And  his  father  Zacharias  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  prophesied,  saying,  ^ 


446  I'SE  GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 

Luke  i.  68-80.         «  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ;  for  he  hath  visited 
a  an.  3  and  redeemed  his  people,  and  hath  raised  up^  a^"  horn  of 

salvation  for  us  in  the  house  of  his  servant  David ;  as  he 
spake  by  the  mouth  of  his  holy  prophets,  which  have  been 
since  the  world  began :  that  we  should  be  saved  from  our 
enemies,  and  from  the  hand  of  all  that  hate  us  ;  to  perfonn 
the  mercy  promised  to  our  fathers,  and  to  remember  his 
holy  covenant ;  the  oath  which  he  sware  to  our  father  Abra- 
ham, That  he  would  grant  unto  us,  that  we  being  delivered 
out  of  the  hand  of  our  enemies  might  serve  him  without 
fear,  in  holiness  and  righteousness  before  him,  all  the  days 
of  our  life. 

"And  thou,  child,  shalt  be  called  the  prophet  of  the 
Highest :  for  thou  shalt  go  before  the  face  of  the  Lord  to 
prepare  his  ways ;  to  give  knowledge  of  salvation  unto  his 
people  by  the  remission  of  their  sins,  through  the  tender 
mercy  of  our  God ;  whereby  the  dayspring  from  on  high 
hath  visited  us,  to  give  light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness 
and  in  the  shadow  of  death,  to  guide  our  feet  into  the  way 
of  peace." 

And  the  child  grew,  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit,  and  was 
in  the  deserts  till  the  day  of  his  shewing  unto  Israel.^ 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Birth  and  Circumcision  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Matt,  i.  18-21.     "VTOW  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ  was  on  this  wise  : 

-i-N  When  as  his  mother  Mary  was  espoused  to  Joseph, 
before  they  came  together,  she  was  found  with  child  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Then  Joseph  her  husband,  being  a  just  man, 
and  not  willing  to  make  her  a  public  example,  was  minded 
to  put  her  away  privily.  But  while  he  thought  on  these 
things,  behold,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him 
in  a  dream,  saying, 

"Joseph,  thou  son  of  David,  fear  not  to  take  unto  thee 
Maiy  thy  wife  :  for  that  which  is  conceived  in  her  is  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  And  she  shall  bring  forth  a  son,  and  thou 
shalt  call  his  name  'Jesus,'  for  he  shall  save  his  people 
from  their  sins."^ 


BIRTH  OF  CHRIST.  447 

Now  all  this  was  done,  that  it  miorht  be  fulfilled  which  Matt.  i.  22-^. 

'  °  Luke  u.  1-15- 

was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  saying,  — 

"  Behold,  a  virgin  sliall  be  with  child,  and  shall  bring  forth  a  son. 

And  they  shall  call  his  name  Emmanuel,"  "  (which  being  interpreted 

•     i,r\    ^      -1.1,        >>\  a  Isaiah  vii  14. 

IS  "God  with  us.  ) 

Then  Joseph  being  raised  from  sleep  did  as  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  had  bidden  him,  and  took  unto  him  his  wife  :  and 
knew  her  not  till  she  had  brought  forth  her  first-bom 
son.-^ 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days,  that  there  went  out  a 
decree  from  Caesar  Augustus,  that  all  the  world  should  be 
taxed.  (And  this  taxing  was  first  made  when  Cyrenius  was 
governor  of  Syria.)  And  all  went  to  be  taxed,  every  one 
into  his  own  city.  And  Joseph  also  went  up  from  Galilee, 
out  of  the  city  of  Nazareth,  into  Judsea,  imto  the  city  of 
David,  which  is  called  Bethlehem ;  (because  he  was  of 
the  house  and  lineage  of  David  : )  to  be  taxed  with  Mary 
his  espoused  wife,  being  great  with  child. 

And  so  it  was,  that,  while  they  were  there,  the  days  were 
accomplished  that  she  should  be  delivered.  And  she 
brought  forth  her  first-born  son,  and  wrapped  him  in  swad- 
dling clothes,  and  laid  him  in  a  manger ;  because  there  was 
no  room  for  them  in  the  inn. 

And  there  were  in  the  same  country  shepherds  abiding 
in  the  field,  keeping  watch  over  their  flock  by  night.  And, 
lo,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  them,  and  the  glory 
of  the  Loi'd  shone  round  about  them  :  and  they  were  sore 
afraid.     And  the  angel  said  unto  them, 

"Fear  not :  for,  behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great 
joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people.  For  unto  you  is  bom 
this  day  in  the  city  of  David  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the 
Lord.  And  this  shall  be  a  sign  unto  you ;  Ye  shall  find 
the  babe  wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in  a  manger." 

And  suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel  a  multitude  of 
the  heavenly  host  praising  God,  and  saying, 

**  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good- 
will toward  men." 

And  it  came  to  pass,  as  the  angels  were  gone  away  from 
them  into  heaven,  the  shepherds  said  one  to  another,  ^ 


448  THE  GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 

Luke ii.  15-34.  "Let  US  now  go  even  unto  Bethlehem,  and  see  this  thing 
which  is  come  to  pass,  which  the  Lord  hath  made  known 
unto  us." 

And  they  came  with  haste,  and  found  Mary,  and  Joseph, 
and  the  babe  lying  in  a  manger.  And  when  they  had  seen 
it,  they  made  known  abroad  the  saying  which  was  told  them 
concerning  this  child.  And  all  they  that  heard  it  wondered 
at  those  things  which  were  told  them  by  the  shepherds. 
But  Mary  kept  all  these  things,  and  pondered  them  in  her 
heart. 

And  the  shepherds  returned,  glorifying  and  praising  God 
for  all  the  things  that  they  had  heard  and  seen,  as  it  was 
told  unto  them. 

And  when  eight  days  were  accomplished  for  the  circum- 
"  Luid'^M^^  cising  of  the  child,  his  name  was  called "  "  Jesus,"  which 
iiame.i  ^^g  gQ  j^amed  of  the  angel  before  he  was  conceived  in  the 

womb.  And  when  the  days  of  her  purification  according  to 
the  law  of  Moses  were  accomplished,  they  brought  him  to 
Jeinisalem,  to  present  him  to  the  Lord ;  (as  it  is  written  in 
the  law  of  the  Lord,  "  Every  male  that  openeth  the  womb 
shall  be  called  holy  to  the  Lord " ; )  and  to  offer  a  sacri- 
fice according  to  that  which  is  said  in  the  law  of  the  Loi'd, 
*'  A  pair  of  turtledoves,  or  two  young  pigeons." 

And,  behold,  there  was  a  man  in  Jerusalem,  whose  name 
was  Simeon ;  and  the  same  man  w'as  just  and  devout, 
Waiting  for  the  consolation  of  Israel :  aud  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  upon  him.  And  it  w^as  revealed  unto  him  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  that  he  should  not  see  death,  befoi-e  he  had  seen  the 
Lord's  Christ.  And  he  came  by  the  Spirit  into  the  temple  : 
and  when  the  pai'ents  brought  in  the  child  Jesus,  to  do  for 
him  after  the  custom  of  the  law,  then  took  he  him  up  in 
his  arms,  and  blessed  God,  and  said, 

*'  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
according  to  thy  word  :  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salva- 
tion, which  thou  hast  prepared  before  the  face  of  all  people; 
a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  thy  people 
Israel." 

And  Joseph  and  his  mother  marvelled  at  those  things 
which  were  spoken  of  him. 

And  Simeon  blessed  them,  and  said  unto  Mary  his  mother,' 


SIMEON.— ANNA.—  GENEALOGIES.  449 

"  Behold,  this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of  Lukcii.  34-39. 
many  in  Israel ;    and  for  a   sign    which    shall   be    spoken 
against ;  (yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thy  own  soul 
also),  that  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  may  be  revealed." 

And  there  was  one  Anna,  a  prophetess,  the  daughter  of 
Phanuel,  of  the  tribe  of^  Asher  :"^  she  was  of  a  great  age,  «Aser. 3 
and  had  lived  with  ^  a  *  husband  seven  years  from  her  vir-  6  ^n.  3 
ginity  ;  and  she  was  a  widow  of  about  fourscore  and  four 
years,  which  departed  not  from  the  temple,  but  served  God 
with  fastings  and  prayers  night  and  day.  And  she  coming 
in  that  instant  gave  thanks  likewise  unto  the  Lord,  and 
spake  of  him  to  all  them  that  looked  for  redemption  in 
Jerusalem. 

And  ^  they  ^  '^  performed  all  things  according  to  the  law  '^  -J^"^  'f^'^^  ^^^y 
of  the  Lord.^ 


CHAPTER    V. 

The  Genealogies  of  Jesus  Christ. 


T 


HE  book  of  the  generation  of  Jesus  Christ.*  Matt.  i.  1-7 

The  son  of  David. 
The  son  of  Abraham. 
Abraham  begat  Isaac  ;  and 
Isaac  begat  Jacob  ;  and 

Jacob  begat  *  Judah  ^  ^  and  his  brethren  ;  and  ^  rf  judas.  1 

Judah^**  begat  ^  Pharez^'^  and^  Zarah^/ of  ^  Tamar  i^s' ^^''^^^''^^^ 

and  flThamar.i 

Phares  ®  *  begat  ^  Hezron  ;  ^  *  and  ^  a  Esrom,  1 

Hezron  ^  *  begat  -^  Ram  ;  ^ '  and  ^  ,  Aram.  1 

Ram  ^  *  begat  -^  Amminadab  ;  ^  ^  and  *  ^  Aminadab,  1 

Amminadab  ^  *  begat  -^  Nahshon  ;  ^  '  and  *  J  Naas^on.  1 

Nahshon  ^ '  begat  Salmon  ;  and 

Salmon  begat  ^  Boaz  ^  "*  of  Rahab  ;  ^  "  and  *  m  booz.  1 

Boaz  5  ^  begat  Obed  of  Ruth  ;  and  "  ^"'''^- ' 

Obed  begat  Jesse  ;  and 

Jesse  begat  David  the  king  ;  and 

David  the  king  begat  Solomon  of  her  that  had  been  the 

wife  of^  Uriah  ■,^°  and  oUrias.i 

Solomon  begat  ^  Rehoboam ;  ^p  and  *  p  Roboam.  1 

29 


450 


THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  i.  7-17. 
Marki.  1. 
Luke  iii.  23,  24. 

«  Roboam.  l 
fc  Abia.  1 
c  Josaphat.l 
d  Joram.  l 
e  Ozias.  1 
/  Joatham.  1 

(;  Achaz.  i 

''  Ezekias.  1 
t  Manasses.  1 


^'  Josias.i 
I  Jcchouias.  i 


'"  Zorobabel.  i 


Rehoboam  ^  "  begat  ■^  Abijah  ;  ^  ^  and  ^ 

Abijali  ^  *  begat  Asa  ;  and 

Asa  begat  '^  Jehoshaphat ;  ^ "  and  ^ 

Jehoshaphat  ^ '-'  begat  ^  Jehoram  ;  ^  '^  and  ^ 

Jehoram  ^  '^  begat  -^  Uzziah  ;  ^ '  and  -^ 

Uzziali  ^ '  begat  ^  Jotham  ;  ^f  and  ^ 

Jotham  ^f  begat  ^  Ahaz ;  ^  ^  and  ^ 

Ahaz  ^  «■  begat  ^  Hezekiah  ;  ^  ^  and  ^ 

Hezekiah  ^  *  begat  -^  Manasseh ;  ^  *  and  ^ 

Manasseh  ^  *  begat  Anion ;  and 

Amon  begat  -"^  Josiah  ;  ^  *  and  -^ 

Josiah  ^  ^  begat  ^  Jeconiali  ^ '  and  his  bretbren, 

About  the  time  they  were  carried  away  to  Babylon : 
And  after  they  were  brought  to  Babylon,  ^ 
Jeconiah  ^  ^  begat  Salathiel ;  and 
Salathiel  begat  ^  Zerubbabel ;  ^  "■  and  ^ 
Zerubbabel  ^  "*  begat  Abiud  ;  and 
Abiud  begat  Eliakim  ;  and 
Eliakim  begat  Azor  ;  and 
Azor  begat  Sadoc ;  and 
Sadoc  begat  Achini ;  and 
Achini  begat  Eliud;  and 
Eliud  begat  Eleazar  ;  and 
Eleazar  begat  Matthan ;  and 
]\Iatthan  begat  Jacob ;  and 
Jacob  begat 
Joseph  the  husband  of  Mary,  of  whom  was  born 

Jesus  who  is  called  Christ. 
So  all  the  generations  from  Abraham  to  David  are  four- 
teen generations;  and  from  David  until  the  carrying  away 
into  Babylon  are  fourteen  generations  ;  and  from  the  carry- 
ing away  into  Babylon  unto  Christ  are  fourteen  genera- 
tions.^ 

Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  GOD.^ 

Jesus  ^  being  (as  was  supposed)  the  son  of 

Joseph,  which  was  the  son  of 

Heli,  which  was  the  son  of 

Matthat,  which  was  the  son  of 

Levi,  which  was  the  son  of 

Melchi,  which  was  the  son, of* 


GENEALOGIES.  451 

1  .   1  ,1  p  Luke  iii.  24-82. 

Janna,  which  was  the  son  ot  — 

Joseph,  which  was  the  son  of 

Mattathias,  which  was  the  son  of 

Amos,  which  was  the  son  of 

Naum,  which  was  the  son  of 

Esli,  which  was  the  son  of 

Nagge,  which  was  the  son  of 

Maath,  which  was  the  son  of 

Mattathias,  which  was  the  son  of 

Semei,  which  was  the  son  of 

Joseph,  which  was  the  son  of 

Juda,  which  was  the  son  of 

Joanna,  which  was  the  son  of 

Ehesa,  which  was  tlie  son  of  ^ 

Zembbabel,^  "  which  was  the  son  of  o  zorobabei.  s 

Salathiel,  which  was  the  son  of 

Neri,  which  was  the  son  of 

Melchi,  which  was  the  son  of 

Addi,  which  was  the  son  of 

Cosam,  which  was  the  son  of 

Ehnodam,  which  was  the  son  of 

Er,  which  was  the  son  of 

Jose,  which  was  the  son  of 

Eliezer,  which  was  the  son  of 

Joiira,  which  was  the  son  of 

Matthat,  which  was  the  son  of 

Levi,  which  was  the  son  of 

Simeon,  which  was  the  son  of 

Juda,  which  was  the  son  of 

Joseph,  which  was  the  son  of 

Jonan,  which  was  the  son  of 

Ehakim,  which  was  the  son  of 

Melea,  which  was  the  son  of 

Menan,  which  was  the  son  of 

Mattatha,  which  was  the  son  of 

Nathan,  which  was  the  son  of 

David,  which  was  the  son  of 

Jesse,  which  was  the  son  of 

Obed,  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 

Boaz,^'  which  was  the  son  of  ^  tBooz.s 


452 


THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 


Lukeiii  32-38. 
a  Naasson.s 
6  Aminadab.  3 
e  Aram.  3 
rfEsrom.3 
e  Phares.  3 
-^Juda.3 


a  Thara.  3 
A  Naclior.  3 
I  Saruch.3 
i'  Ragau.  3 
I  Phalec.  3 
"1  Ueber.  3 
n  Sala.  3 


oSem.3 
J)  Noe.  3 


5Mathusala.3 


r  Maleleel.  3 


Salmon,  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Nahshon/  "  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Amminadab,^  *  which  was  the  son  of 
Eam,^''  which  was  the  son  of 
Hezron/''  which  was  the  son  of^ 
Pharez,^'  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Judah,^/  which  was  the  son  of 
Jacob,  which  was  the  son  of 
Isaac,  which  was  the  son  of 
Abraham,  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Terah,^  s  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Nahor,^'^  which  was  the  son  of^ 
Serug,^ '  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Eeu,^  ^  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Peleg,^ '  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Eber,^™  which  was  the  son  of^ 
Shelah,^ "  which  was  the  son  of 
Cainan,  which  was  the  son  of 
Ai-phaxad,  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Shem,^ "  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Noahj^-P  which  was  the  sou  of 
Lamech,  which  was  the  son  of  ^ 
Methuselah,^  ?  which  was  the  sou  of 
Enoch,  which  was  the  son  of 
Jared,  which  was  the  son  of* 
Mahalaleel,^  *■  which  was  the  son  of 
Cainan,  which  was  the  son  of 
Enos,  which  was  the  son  of 
Seth,  which  was  the  son  of 
Adam,  which  was  the  son  of 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Ivfanoj  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Matt.  ii.  1,2.  ""^T"^^^  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judrca  in 
-L-^  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold,  there  came  wise 
men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem,  sayiug, 

"Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews?   for  we* 


TEE  INFANCY  OB'  JESUS  CHRIST.  453 

have  seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  worship  Matt,  ii.  2 -is. 
him." 

When  Herod  the  king  had  heard  these  things,  he  was 
troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him.  And  when  he  had 
gathered  all  the  chief  priests  and  scribes  of  the  people  to- 
gether, he  demanded  of  them  where  Christ  should  be  born. 

And  they  said  unto  him, 

"  In  Bethlehem  of  Judaea  :  for  thus  it  is  written  by  the 
prophet, 

'*  'And  tliou  Betlilehem,  in  the  land  of  i  Judah,^" 
Art  not  the  least  among  the  princes  of  ^  Judah  :  ^  " 
For  out  of  thee  shall  come  a  Governor, 
That  shall  rule  my  people  Israel.'  "  ^  *  Micah  v.  2. 

Then  Herod,  when  he  had  privily  called  the  wise  men, 
inquired  of  them  diligently  what  time  the  star  appeared. 
And  he  sent  them  to  Bethlehem,  and  said, 

"  Go  and  search  diligently  for  the  young  child ;  and 
when  ye  have  found  him,  bring  me  word  again,  that  I  may 
come  and  worship  him  also." 

When  they  had  heard  the  king,  they  departed  ;  and,  lo, 
the  star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east,  went  before  them,  till 
it  came  and  stood  over  where  the  young  child  was.  When 
they  saw  the  star,  they  rejoiced  with  exceeding  great  joy. 

And  when  they  were  come  into  the  house,  they  saw  the 
young  child  with  Mary  his  mother,  and  fell  down  and 
worshipped  him  :  and  when  they  had  opened  their  treas- 
ures, they  presented  unto  him  gifts ;  gold,  and  frankincense, 
and  myrrh.  And  being  warned  of  God  in  a  dream  that 
they  should  not  return  to  Herod,  they  departed  into  their 
own  country  another  way. 

And  when  they  were  departed,  behold,  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  appeareth  to  Joseph  in  a  dream,  saying, 

"Arise,  and  take  the  young  child  and  his  mother,  and 
flee  into  Egypt,  and  be  thou  there  until  I  bring  thee  word  : 
for  Herod  will  seek  the  young  child  to  destroy  him." 

When  he  arose,  he  took  the  young  child  and  his  mother 
by  night,  and  departed  into  Egypt  :  and  was  there  until 
the  death  of  Herod  :  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was 
spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  saying, 

"  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  son."  l "^  c  Rosea  xL  1. 


454 


THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  ii.  16-23. 
Luke  ii.  yy-iT. 


a  Jeremy.  1 


6  Jer.  xxsi.  15. 


cheA 


dto.3 

e  a  city  called.  1 


/Is.  liii.  2. 


Then  Herod,  when  he  saw  that  he  was  mocked  of  the 
wise  men,  was  exceeding  wroth,  and  sent  forth,  and  slew 
all  the  children  that  were  in  Bethlehem,  and  in  all  the 
coasts  thereof,  from  two  years  old  and  under,  according  to 
the  time  which  he  had  diligently  inquired  of  the  wise  men. 
Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken  by  ^  Jeremiah  ^ " 
the  prophet,  saying, 

"In  Eama  was  there  a  voice  heard, 
Lamentation,  and  weeping,  and  great  mourning, 
Rachel  weeping  for  her  children,  and  would  not  be  conaforted, 
Because  they  are  not."  * 

But  when  Herod  was  dead,  behold,  an  angel  of  the  Lord 
appeareth  in  a  dream  to  Joseph  in  Egypt,  saying, 

"  Arise,  and  take  the  young  child  and  his  mother,  and  go 
into  the  land  of  Israel :  for  they  are  dead  which  sought  the 
young  child's  life." 

And  he  arose,  and  took  the  young  child  and  his  mother, 
and  came  into  the  land  of  Israel.  But  when  he  heard  that 
Archelaus  did  reign  in  Judaea  in  the  room  of  his  father 
Herod,  he  was  afraid  to  go  thither  :  notwithstanding,  being 
warned  of  God  in  a  dream,^  they^''  turned  aside,^  and^ 
returned  ^  into  the  parts  of  Galilee  :  and  ^  they  '^ "  came  and 
dwelt  in  ^  '^  their  own  city '  Nazareth  :  ^  that  it  might  be 
fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophets,  "  He  shall  be 
called  a  Nazarene."  ^f 

And  the  child  grew,  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit,  filled 
with  wisdom  :  and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon  him. 

Now  his  parents  went  to  Jerusalem  every  j'ear  at  the 
feast  of  the  passover.  And  when  he  was  twelve  years  old, 
they  went  up  to  Jerusalem  after  the  custom  of  the  feast. 
And  when  they  had  fulfilled  the  days,  as  they  i-eturned,  the 
child  Jesus  tarried  behind  in  Jerusalem ;  and  Joseph  and 
his  mother  knew  not  of  it.  But  thcj^,  supposing  him  to 
have  been  in  the  company,  went  a  day's  journey  ;  and  they 
sought  him  among  their  kinsfolk  and  acquaintance.  And 
when  they  found  him  not,  they  turned  back  again  to  Jeru- 
salem, seeking  him. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  that  after  three  days  they  fomid 
him  in  the  temple,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  doctors,  both 
hearing  them,  and  asking  them  questions.     And  all  that  ^ 


THE  PREACHING   OF  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST.  455 

heard   him   -u^ere    astonished    at   his    understanding    and  Luke  u.  47-52. 
answei'S.    And  when  they  saw  him,  they  were  amazed  :  and 
his  mother  said  unto  him, 

"  Son,  why  hast  thou  thus  dealt  with  us  %  behold,  thy 
father  and  I  have  sought  thee  sorrowing." 

And  he  said  unto  them, 

"  How  is  it  that  ye  sought  me'?  wist  ye  not  that  I  must 
be  about  my  Father's  business  %  " 

And  they  understood  not  the  saying  which  he  spake  unto 
them. 

And  he  went  down  with  them,  and  came  to  Nazareth, 
and  was  subject  unto  them  :  but  his  mother  kept  all  these 
sayings  in  her  heart. 

And  Jesus  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favor 
with  God  and  man.^ 


CHAPTER   VII. 

The  Preaching  of  John  the  Baptist. 

"VyOW   in  the  fifteenth  year  of   the  reign  of  Tiberius  Matt.  Hi.  1,2. 

-1-^     Caesar,"  Pontius  Pilate  being  governor  of  Judtea,  and  LukeUi.  i-4. 

Herod  being  tetrarch   of  Galilee,   and  his  brother  Philip  « in  those  days.  1 

tetrarch  of  Iturea  and  of  the  region  of  Trachonitis,   and 

Lysanias  the  tetrarch  of  Abilene,  Annas  and  Caiaphas  being 

the   high-priests,  the   word   of  God   came  imto  John^   the 

Baptist,^  the  son  of  Zacharias,  in  the  wilderness.     And  he 

came  into  all  the  country  about  Jordan,^  and  ^  did  baptize  ^ 

in  the  wilderness  of  Judaea,'  and  preach^*  the  baj^tism  of  6 preaching.  1 3 

repentance  for  the  remission  of  sins,^  saying,"  c  and  saying.  1 

"  Repent  ye  :  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  ^ 

As  it  is  wi'itten  in  the  prophets, 

"  Behold,  I  .send  my  messenger  before  thy  face, 
AVhich  shall  prepare  thy  way  before  thee  :  ^  '^  d  Malachi  iii.  1. 

and  ®  in  the  book  of  the  words  of  ^  Isaiah  ^ '  the  prophet,  e  Esaias.  3 
saying, 

"  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness, 
Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
Make  his  paths  straight.  ^ 


/And. 
Oto.i 


456  THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 

Mark  "'5^  ~  ^^'  ^'''^^y  "^'^^^^y  ^^^^^^  ^>^  ^^^^^' 

Luke  iii.  5-15.  And  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  brought  low  ; 

And  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight, 
And  the  rough  ways  shall  be  made  smooth  ; 

n  Isaiah  xl.  3-5.  And  all  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  God."  3a 

b  Esaias.i  For  this  is  he  that  was  spoken  of  by  the  prophet  ^  Isaiah.^  & 

'  «ith.1°'^"^  And  the  same  John  had  his  raiment  of«  camel's  hair,  and 

"I^skin.i^'"^^""^^  leathern  girdle <^  about   his  loins;    and  his  meat  was' 
e  he  did  eat.  2       locusts  and  wild  houey.^ 

Then  V  there  went  out  unto  s  him  all  the  land  of  Judcea, 
and  they  of  Jerusalem,^  and  all  the  region  round  about 
Jordan,  and  were  ^  all  baptized  of  him  in  the  river  of 
Jordan,  confessing  their  sins.^ 

Then  said  he  to  the  multitude  that  came  forth  to  be 
Abut  when.  1  baptized  of  him,^  when*  he  saw  many  of  the  Pharisees 
'  'them  "i  ^^°     ^^^  Sadducees  come  to  his  baptism,* 

"  0  generation  of  vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to  flee 
from   the    wrath    to    cornel     Bring   forth    therefore    fruits 
umI.*^?'"'         worthy  of  *^  repentance,  and  begin'  not  to  say  within  your- 
selves, '  We  have  Abraham  to  our  father '  :  for  I  say  unto 
you.  That  God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children 
unto  Abraham.     And  now  also  the  axe  is  laid  unto  the 
root  of  the  trees  :  every  tree  therefore  which  bringeth  not 
forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down,  and  cast  into  the  fire." 
And  the  peojile  asked  him,  saying, 
"  What  shall  we  do  then  1 " 
He  answereth  and  saith  imto  them, 

"  He  that  hath  two  coats,  let  him  impart  to  him  that 
hath  none ;  and  he  that  hath  meat,  let  him  do  likewise." 

Then  came  also  publicans  to  be  baptized,  and  said  unto 
him, 

"  Master,  what  shall  we  do  1 " 
And  he  said  unto  them, 

"  Exact  no  more  than  that  which  is  appointed  you." 
And  the  soldiers  likewise  demanded  of  him,  saying, 
"  And  what  shall  we  do  1 " 
And  he  said  unto  them, 

"  Do  violence  to  no  man,  neither  accuse  any  falsely ;  and 
be  content  with  your  wages." 

And  as  the  peoj)le  w^ere   in  expectation,   and  all   men' 


BAPTISM  IN  JORDAN.  457 

mused  in  their  hearts  of  John,  whether  he  were  the  Christ,  Matt,  iii  ii,  12. 

'  Mark  i.  7,  8. 

or  not;  John  answered,"  saying  vinto  them  all,  Luke  Hi.  15-18. 

"I  indeed  baptize''  you  with  water  ^  unto  repentance:  a  and  preached.  ^ 
but  ^  there   cometh    one "  mightier  than   I  after  me,^  the  ^  he^tharcometii 
latchet  of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  stoop  down  and  ••'^•^ 
unloose  t^*^  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  ''bcar.i 
with  fire  :  whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and  he  will  thoroughly 
purge  his  floor,  and  will  gather  the  *  wheat  into  his  garner  ;  ^  ^'^- ' 
but  the  chaif  he  will  bum  ^  up  *  with  fire  unquenchable."  ^ 

And  many  other  things  in  his  exhortation  preached  he 
unto  the  people.^ 


CHAPTER    VIII.. 

The  BajJtism  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  Tem2)tatio7i. 

n^rOW^/it  came  to  pass  in  those  days,^^-  when  all  the  Matt.  in.  13-17. 
-L\     people  were  baptized,^  that  Jesus  came  ^  from  Naza-  ?^^'"'^!.-.^"^^^ 

^      ^  r  J  Luke  111.  21, 22. 

reth  of  Galilee^  to  Jordan  unto  John  to  be  baptized  of     —  '^i.^- 

him.  /And.  2 

But  John  forbad  him,  saying,  a  cometh.  i 

"  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee,  and  comest  thou  to 
mel" 

And  Jesus  answering  said  unto  him, 

"  Suffer  it  to  be  so  now  :  for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfil 
all  righteousness." 

Then   he  suffered  him,^  and  was  baptized  of   John  in 
Jordan.^ 

And  Jesus,^  praying,^  when  he  was*'  baptized,  went  up  ^  'also being. 3^ 
straightway  out  of  the  water:  and,  lo,  the  heavens  were'  niesawtheheav- 
opened  unto^  John,^™  and  he  saw  the  Spirit  of  God,Hhe  thLMieaven  \ya.s.^ 
Holy  Ghost,^  descending^"  in  a  bodily  shape,^  like  a  dove,  '"''""•' 

,         .  J  f   '  '   n  descended. ' 

and  lighting   upon    him  :    and    lo  a   voice  ^  came  ^ "   from  <>  there  came  a 
heaven,^  which  said,^-?  i^  saying.  12 

"This  is?  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom'"  T  am  well  pleased."^  7thouart.23 

''  '  L  r  thee.  3 

And   Jesus  being  full  of  the   Holy  Ghost  returned  from 
Jordan,  and*  was  ^  immediately^  led  up  of  the  Spirit"  into  *^^,"'°'* 
the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the  devil.^  "the  Spirit  driv- 

eth  liiin.  '- 

And  he  was  ""  there  in  the  wilderness  foi'ty  days,  tempted  ^  ^  being.  ^ 


458 


THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  iv.  2-11. 
Mark  i.  13. 
Luke  iii.  23. 
—   iv.2-13. 

n  the  devil.  3 

b  when  they  were 

ended.* 
f  .an.  1 
il  afterward  hun- 

gred. * 

c  this  stone  that 
it.  3 


/And.  8 
a  he.  1 
and. 
'i  and  said.  1 

i  Dcut.  viii.  3. 
i"  And  he.* 
Zset.3 
»n  said. 3 


n  over. 3 
cPs.xci.  11,12. 

V  said.  3 

9  Deut.  vi.  16. 

r  And.  3 

s  taking.  3 

t  shewed  unto.  3 

u  said.  3 


w  if  thou  there- 
fore   wilt  wor- 
ship me,  all 
«h:ill  be  thine. ' 

ar  And.  3 

V  saith.  1 

2  behind  me.  3 

o  Deut.  vi.  13. 

h  then.  1 

<•  leavoth.  i 
''  the  angels.  3 


of  Satan  ;  "  and  was  with  the  wild  beasts  ;  ^  and  in  those 
days  be  did  eat  nothing.^ 

And  when  he  bad  fasted  foi-ty  days  and  forty  nights,''  he 
was  afterward^  a^'^  bungred.'^ 

And  when  the  tempter/  the  devil,^  came  to  him,  he  said^ 
unto  bim,^ 

"  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  command  that  these  stones* 
be  made  bread." 

But  V  Jesus  §■  answered  him,  saying,^ 

"  It  is  written,  '  That  man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone, 
but  by  every  word  ^  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of 
God.'"^^ 

Then  the  devil  ^^^  brought  him  to  Jerusalem,^  and®  taketh 
him  up  into  the  holy  city,  and  setteth '  him  on  a  pinnacle 
of  the  temple,  and  saith  "*  unto  him, 

"  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  cast  thyself  down  ^  from 
hence ;  ^  for  it  is  written,  '  He  shall  give  his  angels  charge 
concerning  "  thee,^  to  keep  thee  :  and  in  their  hands  they 
shall  bear  thee  up,  lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy  foot 
against  a  stone.'"" 

And  Jesus,  answering,  said  unto  him,^ 

"It  is  written  again, ^  'Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord 
thy  God.'  "  1 

Again,*"  the  devil  taketh  *  him  up  into  an  exceeding  high 
mountain,  and  sheweth'  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world,  and  the  glory  of  them,^  in  a  moment  of  time ;  ^  and  ^ 
the  devil  ^  saith  "  unto  him, 

"  All  these  things  ^  and  the  glory  of  them,^  and  ^  all  this 
power  will  I  give  thee,^  (for  that  is  delivered  unto  mc ;  and 
to  whomsoever  I  will  I  give  it,)^  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and 
worship  me."  "' 

Then  ^ "  Jesus  answered  and  said  y  unto  him,^ 
"  Get  thee  hencc,^  Satan  :  for  it  is  written,  '  Thou  shalt 
worship    the    Lord    thy    God,    and    him    only    shalt    tliou 
serve.' "  ^ " 

And  when  the  devil  had  ended  all  the  temptation, ^  he 
departed  from"  him  for  a  season.^  And,  behold,  angels'' 
came  and  ministered  unto  him.^ 

And  Jesus  himself  began  to  be  about  thirty  years  of 
age.^ 


TESTIMONY  OF  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST.  459 


CHAPTER    IX. 

The  Testimony  of  John  the  Baptist  to  Jesus,  and  the  Call- 
ing of  the  first  Disciples. 

AND  this  is  the  record  of  John,  when  the  Jews  sent  John  i.  19- 
priests  and  Levites  from  Jerusalem  to  ask  him, 

"  Who  art  thou  %  " 

And  he  confessed,  and  denied  not ;  but  confessed, 

"  I  am  not  the  Christ." 

And  they  asked  him, 

"  What  then  1     Art  thou  ^  Elijah  ? "  ^  "  a  Biiaa.  * 

And  he  saith, 

"  I  am  not." 

"  Art  thou  that  prophet  ? " 

And  he  answered, 

"  No." 

Then  said  they  unto  him, 

"  Who  art  thou  1  that  we  may  give  an  answer  to  them   • 
that  sent  us.      What  sayest  thou  of  thyself? " 

He  said, 

"  I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  '  Make 
straight   the   way   of   the    Lord,'  *   as   said   the   prophet*  ^  is  xi.  3. 

Isaiah."  5  "^  cEsaias.* 

And  they  which  were  sent  wei'e  of  the  Pharisees.  And 
they  asked  him,  and  said  unto  him, 

"  Wliy  baptizest  thou  then,  if  thou  be  not  that  Christ, 
nor  *  Elijah,^  '^  neither  that  prophet  V  a  EUas.  * 

John  answered  them,  saying, 

"  I  baptize  with  water  :  but  there  standeth  one  among 
you,  whom  ye  know  not ;  he  it  is,  who  coming  after  me  is 
preferred  before  me,  whose  shoe's  latchet  I  am  not  worthy 
to  unloose." 

These  things  were  done  in  Bethabara  beyond  Jordan, 
where  John  was  baptizing. 

The  next  day  John  seeth  Jesus  coming  unto  him,  and  saith, 

"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin 
of   the  world.     This   is   he  of  whom  I  said,   'After  me* 


460  THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 

Johni.  30-45.  cometh  a  man  which  is  preferred  before  me'  :  for  he  was 
before  me.  And  I  knew  him  not  :  but  that  he  should  be 
made  manifest  to  Israel,  therefore  am  I  come  baptizing  with 
w^ater." 

And  John  bare  record,  saying, 

I  saw  the  Spirit  descending  from  heaven  like  a  dove,  and 
it  abode  upon  him.  And  I  knew  him  not  :  but  he  that 
sent  me  to  baptize  with  water,  the   same  said  unto  mc, 

*  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending,  and 
remaining  on  him,  the  same  is  he  which  baptizeth  with  the 
Holy  Ghost.'  And  I  saw,  and  bare  record  that  this  is  the 
Son  of  God." 

Again  the  next  day  after  John  stood,  and  two  of  his  dis- 
ciples ;  and  looking  upon  Jesus  as  he  walked,  he  saith, 

"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !  " 

And  the  two  disciples  heard  him  speak,  and  they  followed 
Jesus.  Then  Jesus  turned,  and  saw  them  following,  and 
saith  unto  them, 

"  What  seek  ye  1 " 

They  said  unto  him, 

"  Rabbi,"  (which  is  to  say,  being  interpreted,  "  Master,") 
"  where  dwellest  thou  %  " 

He  saith  unto  them, 

"  Come  and  see." 

They  came  and  saw  where  he  dwelt,  and  abode  with  him 
that  day  :  for  it  was  about  the  tenth  hour.  One  of  the 
two  which  heard  John  speak,  and  followed  him,  was  An- 
drew, Simon  Peter's  brother.  He  first  fiudeth  his  own 
brother  Simon,  and  saith  unto  him, 

"We  have  found  the  Messias,"  (which  is,  being  inter- 
preted, "  the  Christ,") 

And  he  brought  him  to  Jesus.  And  when  Jesus  beheld 
him,  he  said, 

"  Thou  art  Simon  the  son  of  Jona  :  thou  shalt  be  called 

*  Cephas,' "  (which  is  by  interpretation,  "  A  stone.") 

The  day  following  Jesus  would  go  forth  into  Galilee,  and 
findeth  Philip,  and  saith  unto  him, 

"  Follow  me." 

Now  Philip  was  of  Bethsaida,  the  city  of  Andrew  and 
Peter.     Philip  findeth  Nathanael,  and  saith  unto  him,* 


MARRIAGE  AT  CAN  A.  461 

"We  have  found  him,  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law,  and  John  i.  45-51. 
the  prophets,    did  write,  Jesus  of   Nazareth,   the   son   of 
Joseph." 

And  Nathanael  said  unto  him, 

"  Can  there  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth? " 

PhiUp  saith  unto  him, 

"  Come  and  see." 

Jesus  saw  Nathanael  coming  to  him,  and  saith  of  him, 

"  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile  !  " 

Nathanael  saith  unto  him, 

"  Whence  knowest  thou  me  ?" 

Jesus  answered  and  saith  unto  him, 

"  Before  that  Philip  called  thee,  when  thou  wast  under 
the  fig-tree,  I  saw  thee." 

Nathanael  answered  and  saith  unto  him, 

"  Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God ;  thou  art  the  King  of 
Israel." 

Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him, 

"  Because  I  said  unto  thee  '  I  saw  thee  under  the  fig- 
tree,'  believest  thou]  thou  shalt  see  greater  things  than 
these." 

And  he  saith  unto  him, 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Hereafter  ye  shall  see 
heaven  open,  and  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descend- 
ing upon  the  Son  of  man."  * 


CHAPTER    X. 

The  Marriage  at  Cana.  —  Journey  to  Jerxisalerft.  —  The  cast- 
ing out  of  the  Traders  from  the  Temple. 

AND  the  third  day  there  was  a  man*iage  in  Cana  of  John  ii.  1-4. 
Galilee  ;    and  the  mother  of  Jesus  was  there  :   and 
both  Jesus  was  called,  and  his  disciples,  to  the  marriage. 

And  when  they  wanted  wine,  the  mother  of  Jesus  saith 
unto  him, 

"  They  have  no  wine." 
Jesus  saith  unto  her,* 


462  THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 

John  ii.  4-18.  '*  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  -with  theel    mine  hour  is 

not  yet  come." 

His  mother  saith  unto  the  servants, 

"  Whatsoever  he  saith  unto  you,  do  it." 

And  there  were  set  there  six  waterpots  of  stone,  after 
the  manner  of  the  purifying  of  the  Jews,  containing  two 
or  three  firkins  apiece. 

Jesus  saith  unto  them, 

"  Fill  the  waterpots  with  water." 

And  they  filled  them  up  to  the  brim.  And  he  saith  im- 
to  them, 

"  Draw  out  now,  and  bear  unto  the  governor  of  the  feast." 

And  they  bare  it.  When  the  ruler  of  the  feast  had 
tasted  the  water  that  was  made  wine,  and  knew  not  whence 
it  was :  (but  the  servants  which  drew  the  water  knew ;) 
the  governor  of  the  feast  called  the  bridegTOom,  and  saitli 
unto  him, 

"Every  man  at  the  beginning  doth  set  forth  good  wine  ; 
and  when  men  have  well  drunk,  then  that  which  is  worse  : 
but  thou  hast  kept  the  good  wine  until  now." 

This  beginning  of  miracles  did  Jesus  in  Cana  of  Galilee, 
and  manifested  forth  his  glory  ;  and  his  disciples  believed 
on  him. 

After  this  he  went  down  to  Capernaum,  he,  and  his 
mother,  and  his  brethren,  and  his  discij^les  :  and  they  con- 
tinued there  not  many  days. 

And  the  Jews'  passover  was  at  baud,  and  Jesus  went  up 
to  Jerusalem,  and  found  in  the  temple  those  that  sold  oxen 
and  sheep  and  doves,  and  the  changers  of  money  sitting  : 
and  when  he  had  made  a  scourge  of  small  cords,  he  drove 
them  all  out  of  the  temple,  and  the  sheep,  and  the  oxen ; 
and  poured  out  the  changers'  money,  and  overthrew  the 
tables ;  and  said  unto  them  that  sold  doves, 

"Take    these   things   hence;    make   not   my    Father's 
"  '1°-  *  house  ^  a  ^  "  house  of  merchandise." 

And  his  disciples  remembered  that  it  was  WTitten, 
I.  Psalm  isix.  9.         "  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up."  ' 

Then  answered  the  Jews  and  said  unto  him, 

"What  sign  shewest  thou  unto  us,  seeing  that  thou 
doest  these  things  ] "  ^ 


NICODEMUS.  463 

Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  John  n.  19 -22. 

"  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it 
up." 

Then  said  the  Jews, 

"  Forty  and  six  years  was  this  temple  in  building,  and 
wilt  thou  rear  it  up  in  three  days  ] " 

But  he  spake  of  the  temple  of  his  body.  When  there- 
fore he  was  risen  from  the  dead,  his  disciples  remembered 
that  he  had  said  this  vmto  them ;  and  they  believed  the 
scripture,  and  the  word  which  Jesus  had  said.^ 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Jesus  and  Nicodemus.  —  Further  Testimony  of  the  Baptist. 


""^yOW  when  he  was  in  Jerusalem  at  the  passover,  in  John  n.  23-25. 
-L^     the  feast  day,  many  believed  in  his  name,  when  they  — 

saw  the  miracles  which  he  did.  But  Jesus  did  not  commit 
himself  unto  them,  because  he  knew  all  men,  and  needed 
not  that  any  should  testify  of  man  :  for  he  knew  what  was 
in  man.* 

There  was  a  man  of  the  Pharisees,  named  Nicodemus,  a 
ruler  of  the  Jews  :  the  same  came  to  Jesus  by  night,  and 
said  unto  him, 

"  Rabbi,  we  know  that  thou  art  a  teacher  come  from 
God  :  for  no  man  can  do  these  miracles  that  thou  doest, 
except  God  be  with  him." 

Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him, 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except  a  man  be  bom 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

Nicodemus  saith  unto  him, 

"  How  can  a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old  ?  can  he  entef 
the  second  time  into  his  mother's  womb,  and  be  born  1 " 

Jesus  answered, 

"■  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.     That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh  ;  and  ^ 


464  THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 

Johniii.  6-25.  ^hat  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  Marvel  not  that 
I  said  unto  thee,  *  Ye  must  be  born  again.'  The  wind 
bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  there- 
of, but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it 
goeth  :  so  is  eveiy  one  that  is  boi'n  of  the  Spirit." 

Nicodemus  answered  and  said  unto  him, 

"  How  can  these  things  be  V 

Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him, 

"  Art  thou  a  master  of  Israel,  and  knowest  not  these 
things  1  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  We  speak  that  we 
do  know,  and  testify  that  Ave  have  seen  ;  and  ye  receive  not 
our  witness.  If  I  have  told  you  earthly  things,  and  ye  be- 
lieve not,  how  shall  ye  believe,  if  I  tell  you  of  heavenly 
things  %  And  no  man  hath  ascended  up  to  heaven,  but  he 
that  came  down  from  heaven,  even  the  Son  of  man  which 
is  in  heaven.  And  as  j\Ioses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the 
wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up  ;  that 
whosoever  believcth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
eternal  life. 

"  For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  be- 
gotten Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son 
into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world  ;  but  that  the  world 
through  him  might  be  saved.  He  that  believeth  on  him  is 
not  condemned  :  but  he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned 
already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God.  And  this  is  the  condemnation, 
that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness 
rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds  were  evil.  For  every 
one  that  docth  evil  hateth  the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the 
light,  lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved.  But  he  that  docth 
truth  cometh  to  the  light,  that  his  deeds  may  be  made 
manifest,  that  they  are  wrought  in  God." 

After  these  things  came  Jesus  and  his  disciples  into  the 
land  of  Judtca  ;  and  there  he  tarried  with  them,  and  bap- 
tized. And  John  also  was  baptizing  in  ^non  near  to 
Salim,  because  there  was  much  water  there  :  and  they 
came,  and  were  baptized.  For  John  was  not  yet  cast  into 
prison. 

Then  there  arose  a  question  between  some  of  John's  dis-  * 


HE  ROD  AND  HERODIAS.  465 

ciples  and  the  Jews  about  purifying.     And  they  came  unto  John '"■25-36. 
John,  and  said  unto  him, 

"  Eabbi,  he  that  was  with  thee  beyond  Jordan,  to  whom 
thou  barest  witness,  behold,  the  same  baptizeth,  and  all 
men  come  to  him." 

John  answered  and  said, 

"  A  man  can  receive  nothing,  except  it  be  given  him  from 
heaven.  Ye  yourselves  bear  me  witness,  that  I  said,  '  I  am 
not  the  Christ,'  but  that  I  am  sent  before  him.  He  that 
hath  the  bride  is  the  bridegroom  :  but  the  friend  of  the 
bridegroom,  which  standeth  and  heareth  him,  rejoiceth 
greatly  because  of  the  bridegroom's  voice  :  this  my  joy 
therefore  is  fulfilled.  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  de- 
crease. He  that  cometh  from  above  is  above  all  :  he  that 
is  of  the  earth  is  earthly,  and  speaketh  of  the  earth  :  he 
that  cometh  from  heaven  is  above  all.  And  what  he  hath 
seen  and  heard,  that  he  testifieth ;  and  no  man  receiveth 
his  testinaony.  He  that  hath  received  his  testimony  hath 
set  to  his  seal  that  God  is  true.  For  he  whom  God  hath 
sent  speaketh  the  words  of  God  :  for  God  giveth  not  the 
Spirit  by  measure  unto  him." 

The  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given  all  things 
into  his  hand.  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  ever- 
lasting life  :  and  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not 
see  life ;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him.* 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Imprisonment   of  John   the   Baptist.  —  Return   of  Jesus  to 
Galilee.  —  Interview  xoith  the   Woman  of  Samaria. 

"^^rOW  ^  «  Herod  the  tetrarch  ^  himself  ^  sent  *  forth  and  Matt.  iy.  12. 
-1-^     laid''  hold   upon''  John,  and ^  bound  him,  and  put  Mark i.  14. 
him  in  prison  for  Herodias'  sake,  his  brother  Philip's  wife;^  Luke  m.  19,20. 
Herod  ^  being  reproved  by  him  for  Herodias,^  (for  he  had  «But.3  for.  12 
married  her,^)  and  for  all  the  evils  which  ^  he^'^  had  done,  chad  laid.  1 
and  ^  he  ^  added  yet  this  above  all,  that  he  shut  up  John  ''  °°- ' 

„  *'  '  ^  e  Herod.  3 

m  prison." 

30 


466  THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 

Matt.  iv.  12.  For  John  had  said  unto  Herod," 

—    XIV.  3-5.  ' 

LukeTyW '^'^"        "  ^^  ^^  ^'^^  lawful  for  thee  to  have  thy  brother's  wife."  * 
John  jy.  1-12.         Therefore  Herodias  had  a  quarrel  against  him,  and  would 
a  him.  I  have  killed  him ;  but  she  could  not  :  for  Herod,^  "^  when  he 

6  her.  i 

c  and.  I  would  have  put  him  to  death,  feared  ^  the  multitude,  be- 

e^^i^^^^        cause  they  counted  him  for'  a  prophet:  and  Herod  also  ^ 
/an.  2  feared  John,  knowing  that  he  was  a  just  man  and  ^  a  ^/holy, 

and  observed  him  ;  and  when  he  heard  him,  he  did  many 
things  and  heard  him  gladly,^ 
0  when,  i  Now  after  that  John  was  put  in  prison,^  and  s"  Jesus  had 

A  John.  1  heard  that^   he  ^*  was  cast   into  prison,^  and^  when*  the 

fore!*  Lord  knew  how  the  Pharisees  had  heard  that  Jesus  made 

and  baptized  more  disciples  than  John,  (though  Jesus  him- 
self baptized  not,  but  his  disciples,)  he  left  Judaea,  and  de- 
t  came.  2   Jesus   parted  again  ^  and  ^  returned  ^  in  the  power  of  the  Spii'it 

returned.  3  ^■^       -i 

into  Galilee/ 

And  he  must  needs  go  through  Samaria. 

Then  cometh  he  to  a  city  of  Samaria,  which  is  called 
Sychar,  near  to  the  parcel  of  ground  that  Jacob  gave  to 
his  sou  Joseph.  Now  Jacob's  well  was  there.  Jesus  there- 
fore, being  wearied  with  his  journey,  sat  thus  on  the  well : 
and  it  was  about  the  sixth  hour. 

There  cometh  a  woman  of  Samaria  to  draw  water  :  Jesus 
saith  unto  her, 

"  Give  me  to  drink." 

(For  his  disciples  were  gone  away  imto  the  city  to  buy 
meat.)     Then  saith  the  woman  of  Samaria  unto  him, 

"  How  is  it  that  thou,  being  a  Jew,  askest  drink  of  me, 
which  am  a  woman  of  Samaria  1  for  the  Jews  have  no  deal- 
ings with  the  Samaritans." 

Jesus  answered  aiid  said  unto  her, 

"  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of  God,  and  who  it  is  that 
saith  to  thee,  '  Give  me  to  drink '  ;  thou  wouldest  have 
asked  of  him,  and  he  would  have  given  thee  living  water." 

The  woman  saith  unto  him, 

"Sir,  thou  hast  nothing  to  draw  with,  and  the  well  is 
deep  :  from  whence  then  hast  thou  that  living  water  1  Art 
thou  greater  than  our  f\\thcr  Jacob,  which  gave  us  the  well, 
and  drank  thereof  himself,  and  his  children,  and  his  cat- 
tle 1 "  ^ 


THE    WOMAN  OF  SAMAELA.  467 

Jcsns  answered  and  said  unto  her,  John  i v.  13-23. 

"  Whosoever  drinketh  of  this  water  shall  thirst  again  : 
but  whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him 
shall  never  thirst ;  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall 
be  in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  vip  into  everlasting 
life." 

The  woman  saith  imto  him, 

"  Sir,  give  me  this  water,  that  I  thirst  not,  neither  come 
hither  to  draw." 

Jesus  saith  unto  her, 

"  Go,  call  thy  husband,  and  come  hither." 

The  woman  answered  and  said, 

"  I  have  no  husband." 

Jesus  said  unto  her, 

"  Thou  hast  well  said,  '  I  have  no  husband ' :  for  thou 
hast  had  five  husbands ;  and  he  whom  thou  now  hast  is  not 
thy  husband  ;  in  that  saidst  thou  truly." 

The  woman  saith  unto  him, 

"  Sir,  I  perceive  that  thou  art  a  prophet.  Our  fathers 
worshipped  in  this  mountain  ;  and  ye  say,  that  in  Jerusa- 
lem is  the  place  where  men  ought  to  worship." 

Jesus  saith  unto  her, 

"Woman,  believe  me,  the  hour  cometh,  when  ye  shall 
neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the 
Father.  Ye  worship  ye  know  not  what  :  we  know  what  we 
worship  :  for  salvation  is  of  the  Jews.  But  the  hour  com- 
eth, and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshippers  shall  worship 
the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth  :  for  the  Father  seeketh 
such  to  worship  laim.  God  is  a  Spirit :  and  they  that 
worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

The. woman  saith  unto  him, 

"  I  know  that  Messias  cometh,  which  is  called  Christ : 
when  he  is  come,  he  will  tell  us  all  things." 

Jesus  saith  unto  her, 

"  I  that  speak  unto  thee  am  he." 

And  upon  this  came  his  disciples,  and  marvelled  that  he 
talked  with  the  woman  :  yet  no  man  said,  "  What  seekest 
thou  "  or,  "Why  talkest  thou  with  her?"  The  woman 
then  left  her  waterpot,  and  went  her  way  into  the  city,  and 
saith  to  the  men,* 


468  THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 

johniv^9-45.  "  Come,  see  a  man,  which  told  me  all  things  that  ever  I 
did  :  is  not  this  the  Christ  1 " 

Then  they  went  out  of  the  city,  and  came  unto  him. 

In  the  mean  while  his  disciples  prayed  him,  saying, 

"  Master,  eat." 

But  he  said  unto  them, 

"  I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of." 

Therefore  said  the  disciples  one  to  another, 

"  Hath  any  man  brought  him  ought  to  eat  ] " 

Jesus  saith  unto  them, 

"  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to 
finish  his  work.  Say  not  ye,  '  There  are  yet  four  months, 
and  then  cometh  harvest  ] '  behold,  I  say  unto  you,  Lift  up 
your  eyes,  and  look  on  the  fields ;  for  they  are  white 
already  to  harvest.  And  he  that  reapeth  receiveth  wages, 
and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal  :  that  both  he  that 
soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together.  And 
herein  is  that  saying  true,  '  One  soweth  and  another 
reapeth.'  I  sent  you  to  reap  that  whereon  ye  bestowed  no 
labor :  other  men  labored,  and  ye  are  entered  into  their 
labors." 

And  many  of  the  Samaritans  of  that  city  believed  on 
him  for  the  saying  of  the  woman,  which  testified,  "  He  told 
me  all  that  ever  I  did."  So  when  the  Samaritans  were 
come  unto  him,  they  besought  him  that  he  would  tarry 
with  them  :  and  he  abode  there  two  days.  And  many 
more  believed  because  of  his  own  word  ;  and  said  unto  the 
woman, 

"  Now  we  believe,  not  because  of  thy  saying  :  for  wo 
have  heard  him  ourselves,  and  know  that  this  is  indeed  the 
Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world." 

Now  after  two  days  he  departed  thence,  and  went  into 
Galilee.  For  Jesus  himself  testified,  that  a  prophet  hath 
no  honor  in  his  own  country.  Then  when  he  was  come 
into  Galilee,  the  Galileans  received  him,  having  seen  all  the 
things  that  he  did  at  Jerusalem  at  the  feast :  for  they  also 
went  unto  the  feast.  ^ 


THE  PREACHING  OF  JESUS  IN  GALILEE.  469 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

The   Preaching  of  Jesus  in  Galilee.  —  Several   Miracles. 
Calling  of  several  Disciples. 


F 


c  for.  1 
d  heaven. i 


ROM  that  time  Jesvis  be^an  to  preach^"  the  gospel  of  Matt. iv.  17. 

°  ^  o      J.  Mark  i.  14, 15 

the  kingdom  of  God,^  and  to  say,^*'  Lukeiv.u-ie. 

.  ,  „   ^     ,  J   .  John  iv.  46-54. 

"  The  time  is  fulfilled,  and  "  the  kingdom  of  God  ^  is  at  — 

«  preaching.  2 

hand  :  repent  ye,  and  believe  the  gospel.    ^  6  saying.  2 

And  there  went  out  a  fame  of  him  through  all  the  region 
round  about.  And  he  taught  in  their  synagogues,  being 
glorified  of  all.^ 

So  Jesus  came  again  into  Cana  of  Galilee,  where  he  made 
the  water  wine.  And  there  was  a  certain  nobleman,  whose 
son  was  sick  at  Capernaum.  When  he  heard  that  Jesus 
was  come  out  of  Judfca  into  Galilee,  he  went  unto  him,  and 
besought  him  that  he  would  come  down,  and  heal  his  son  : 
for  he  was  at  the  point  of  death. 

Then  said  Jesus  unto  him, 

"  Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  ye  will  not  believe." 

The  nobleman  saith  unto  him, 

"  Sir,  come  down  ere  my  child  die." 

Jesus  saith  unto  him, 

"  Go  thy  way ;  thy  son  liveth." 

And  the  man  believed  the  word  that  Jesus  had  spoken 
unto  him,  and  he  went  his  way.  And  as  he  was  now  going 
down,  his  servants  met  him,  and  told  him,  saying, 

"  Thy  son  hveth." 

Then  inquired  he  of  them  the  hour  when  he  began  to 
amend.     And  they  said  unto  him, 

"  Yesterday  at  the  seventh  hour  the  fever  left  him." 

So  the  father  knew  that  it  was  at  the  same  hour,  in  the 
which  Jesus  said  unto  him,  "  Thy  son  liveth  "  :  and  himself 
believed,  and  his  whole  house.  This  is  again  the  second 
miracle  that  Jesus  did,  when  he  was  come  out  of  Judsea 
into  Galilee.'* 

And  he  came  to  Nazareth,  where  he  had  been  brought 
up  :  and,  as  his  custom  was,  he  went  into  the  synagogue  on  ^ 


470 


THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 


b  Isaiah  Ixi.  1,2. 


Matt.  iv.  13.         the  sabbath  day,  and  stood  up  for  to  read.     And  there  was 

Luke  IV.  16- al.  •' '  -"^ 

deUvered  unto  him  the  book  of  the  prophet®  Isaiah.^" 
And  when  he  had  opened  the  book,  he  found  the  place 
where  it  was  written, 

"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, 

Because  he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor  ; 

He  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted, 

To  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives, 

And  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind, 
•   To  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised, 

To  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord."  ^  * 

And  he  closed  the  book,  and  he  gave  it  again  to  the 
minister,  and  sat  down.  And  the  eyes  of  all  them  that 
were  in  the  synagogue  were  fastened  on  him. 

And  he  began  to  say  unto  them, 

"  This  day  is  this  scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears." 

And  all  bare  him  witness,  and  wondered  at  the  gracious 
words  which  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth.     And  they  said, 

"  Is  not  this  Joseph's  son  % " 

And  he  said  unto  them, 

"  Ye  will  surely  say  nnto  me  this  proverb,  '  Physician, 
heal  th3^sclf' :  'Whatsoever  we  have  heard  done  in  Caper- 
naum, do  also  here  in  thy  country.'  " 

And  he  said, 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  no  prophet  is  accepted  in  his 
own  country.  But  I  tell  jov.  of  a  truth,  many  widows 
were  in  Israel  in  the  days  oP  Elijah,^  "=  when  the  heaven 
was  shut  up  three  years  and  six  months,  when  great  famine 
was  throughout  all  the  land  ;  but  unto  none  of  them  was  ® 
Elijah '^'^  sent,  save  unto®  Zarcphath  °  "^  a  city  of®  Zidon,^  ' 
unto  a  woman  that  was  a  widow.  And  many  lepers  were 
in  Israel  in  the  time  of®  Elisha^/ the  prophet;  and  none 
of  them  was  cleansed,  saving  Naanian  the  Syrian." 

And  all  they  in  the  synagogue,  when  they  heard  these 
things,  were  filled  with  wrath,  and  rose  up,  and  thrust  him 
out  of  the  city,  and  led  him  unto  the  brow  of  the  hill 
whereon  their  city  was  built,  that  they  might  cast  him 
down  headlong.  But  he  passing  through  the  midst  of 
them  went  his  way,  aud  ®  leaviug  Nazareth,  he  ^  came  down 
to®  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum,'  a  city  of  Galilee,®  which  is^ 


cElias.3 


d  Sarepta.  3 
e  Sidon.  3 

/Eliseus.3 


NAZARETH.  —  CAPERNA  UM.  471 

upon  the  sea-coast,    in  the  borders  of^  Zebuhin  ^  "    and  ^  ^^'J^g'- '^- ^■^"^^' 
Naphtali  :  ^  ^  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  ^^^^  ^-  Y'-  ^q 
by  1  Isaiah  ^ «  the  prophet,  saying,  „  zabui^i 

6  Nephthalim.  i 
"The  land  of  ^  Zebulim  ^«  c  Esaiaa.i 

And  the  land  of  ^  Naphtali  5  & 

By  the  way  of  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan,  * 

Galilee  of  the  Gentiles  ; 

The  people  which  sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light ; 

And  to  tlieni  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death  light  is 

,  sprung  up."  ''  '^  Isaiah  ix.  1, 2. 


e  now  as  he 
walked.  '•^ 


And  Jesus,  walking '  by  the  sea  of  Galilee,/  saw  ^  two 
brethren,    Simon   called    Peter,   and   Andrew   his  brother,  -^^^^^  °^  Genne- 

'       saret. " 

casting  a  net  into  the  sea:  for  they  were  fishers.-*     And*  she  saw.  2 

when^  they 5 A  were  gone  out  of*  their  ships,^*  and  were  J '^J^'^*"™^°- ' 

washing   their   nets,*  it   came   to    pass   that  *   the    people 

pressed  upon  him  to  hear  the  word  of  God.*     And  *  as  *  he 

stood  by  the  lake,-^  and  saw  *  the  ^  two   ships  standing  by 

the   lake,*   he    entered    into    one    of*  them,^*'    which    was  ^  the  ships.  3 

Simon's,  and  prayed  him  that  he  would  thrust  out  a  little 

from  the  land.     And  he  sat  down  and  taught  the  people 

out  of  the  ship. 

Now  when  he  had  left  speaking,  he  said  unto  Simon, 

"  Launch  out  into  the  deep,  and  let  down  your  nets  for  a 
draught." 

And  Simon  answering  said  unto  him, 

"  Master,  we  have  toiled  all  the  night,  and  have  taken 
nothing :  nevertheless  at  thy  word  I  will  let  down  the 
net." 

And  when  they  had  this  done,  they  enclosed  a  great 
multitude  of  fislies  :  and  their  net  brake.  And  they  beck- 
oned ijnto  their  partners,  which  were  in  the  other  ship, 
that  they  should  come  and  help  them.  And  they  came, 
and  filled  both  the  ships,  so  that  they  began  to  sink. 

When  Simon  Peter  saw  it,  he  fell  down  at  Jesus'  knees, 
saying, 

"  Depart  from  me  ;  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  0  Lord." 

For  he  was  astonished,  and  all  that  were  with  him,  at 
the  draught  of  the  fishes  which  they  had  taken  :  and  so 
was  also  James,  and  John,  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  which  were 
partners  with  Simon.* 


472  THE  GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 

^-"  viii.  u":^'        ^^^  Jesus  said  "  unto  « them,i  * 

Luke  iv.^lf-fs.        "  ^^^^  "^""^  '  '  come  ye  after "  me,  and  I  will  ^  from  hence- 
-  v^.li.     forth  ^  make  you  to  become  fishers  of  <^  men."  2 

rsimTn"^'  And  when  they  had  brought  their  ships  to  land,  they  ^ 

c  follow.  1  straightway  '  forsook  *  all/  and  followed  him.^ 

catch!  3  '  And  when  he  had  gone  a  little  further  s  thence,^  he  saw 

/the'irnets.12     ^^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^'^  brethren,  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and 

1/ going  on  from.i  Johu  his  brother/  who  also  were  in  the  ^  other  ^  *  ship  with 
Zebedee  their  father,  mending  their  nets.^  And  straight- 
way he  called  them  :  and  they  ^  immediately  left  the  ship 
and  their  father  ^  Zebedee  in  the  ship  with  the  hired  ser- 

t followed.!  vants,  and  went  after'  him.^ 

And  they  went  into  Capernaum ;  and  straightway  on  the 

nt!fghtthem.3  sa^^^-'^th^  days^-^  he  entered  into  the  synagogue  and  taught' 
And  they  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine  :  for  he  taught 
them  as  one  that  had  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes,^  for 
his  word  was  with  power.^ 

m  the  3  And  there  was  in  their  *"  synagogue  a  man  which  had  a 

» with  an  unclean  spirit  of  an  uucleau  devil ;  ^ "  and  he  cried  out  ^  with  a  loud 

Bpirit.  -  •         a  • 

voice,''  saymg, 

"  Let  us  alone  ;  what  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  thou 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  ?  Art  thou  come  to  destroy  us  1  I 
know  thee  who  thou  art,  the  Holy  One  of  God." 

And  Jesus  rebuked  him,  saying, 

"  Hold  thy  peace,  and  come  out  of  him."  - 
o  unclean  spirit.  3      And  when  the  devil "  had  ^  torn  him,^  and  ^  thrown  him 
in  the  midst,^  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  he  came  out  of 
him,2  and  hurt  him  not.^ 

And  they  were  all  amazed,  insomuch  that  they  ques- 
p  spake.  3  tioned  P  among  themselves,  saying, 

"What  thing  is  this?  What  new  doctrine  is  thisl^ 
And  what  a  word  is  this!  For  with  authority  and  power ^ 
commandeth  he  even  the  unclean  spirits,  and  they  do  obey 
him,^  and  come  out."  ^ 
9  the  fame  of  him.  And  immediately  his  fame'  spread  abroad  throughout  all 
the  region  round  about  Galilee,^  and  ^  went  out  into  every 
place  of  the  countrj^  round  about.^ 

And  he  arose  out  of  the  synagogue,^  and  forthwith  when 
r.TesuBwasi       they  were ''come  out  of  tlie  svnati:oa:ue,  thcv  entered  into 

*  Peter" .s  house.  1     ,1        i  /•     .•  1     .  '  ^ 

Simon's  house.  3  the  housc  ol  biiuou  *  aiid  Andrew,  with  James  and  John.^ 


MIRACLES.  473 

But"  Simon's^  wife's  mother ^  was  taken  with  a  great  M^rk fsb^-Vg^'^' 

fever,  and^  lay  sick,^"  and  anon  they  tell  him  of '^  her,^and  Luke  iv.  38-44. 

besouo-ht  him  for  lier.^     And  he  came  "^  and  stood  over  her,®  «Aud.  3 

and  took  her  by  the '  hand,  and  lifted  her  up,^  and  rebuked  cskkofafever.i 

the  fever  ;  ^  and  immediately  the  fever/ left  her,  and  she^  dhesaw.i 

arose  and  ^  s  ministered  unto  them.  ^  touched  her.  1 

/it.  3 
And  at  even,*  when  the  sun  did  set,^ '  all  they  that  had  <j  and  immediate- 

any  sick  with  divers  diseases  brought  them  ^  unto  him,®  and  ^  /,  ^ow.  3 

also  ®  many  ^  that  were  possessed  with  devils.^     And  all  the  *  '^o^JT  ^^^ 

city  was  gathered  together  at  the  door.     And  he  ^  laid  his     ^^l^^^^ 3^^ 

hands  on  ®  all  that  were  sick  ^ '"  and  healed  ^  them  :  ^  that  '^  a"  "i^t  were 

diseased. " 

it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  ^  Isaiah^''  the  7  them.  2 

1      ,  •  m  every  one  of 

prophet,  saymg,  them  3 

many  that  were 
"  Himself  took  our  infirmities,  and  bare  our  sicknesses."  "  ^^'^k  of  divers 

diseases.  2 

And  he  cast  out^  many  devils  ^^  with  his  word  :^  and®  "^^'^}^^!...  , 

•J  '  o  Isaiah  hu.  4. 

the  ^  devils  came  out  i  crying  out,  and  saying,  v  tiie  spirits,  i 

g  also  came  out  of 


,"  Thou  art  Christ  the  Son  of  God." 

And  he  rebuking  them  suffered  them''  not  to  speak  :  for*  '" *^^e 'I'^^i^^ 


many. 

the  dev 

s  because.  2 


they  knew  ®  him,'^  that  he  was  Christ.® 

And  in  the  morning,'  rising  up  a  great  while  before  day,  ^^^l^l^^^ 
he  went  out,  and  departed  into  a  solitary"  place,  and  there  "deserts 
prayed.^     And  the  people  sought  him.®     And  Simon  and 
they  that  were  with  him  followed  after  him.     And  when 
they  had  found  him,  they  said  unto  him, 

"All  men  seek  for  thee."  ^ 

And  ®  the  people  ^  came  unto  him,  and  stayed  him,  that 
he  should  not  depart  from  them.® 

And  he  said  unto  them, 

"  I  must  preach  the  kingdom  of  God  to  other  cities  also  : 
for  therefore  am  I  sent."  ® 

w  them .  2 

And  he  said  unto^  Simon  and  they  that  were  withhim,^™ 
*'  Let  us  go  into  the  next  towns,  that  I  may  preach  there 
also  :  for  therefore  came  I  forth." 

o' their.  2 

And  he  preached  in  ^  the  ®  ^  synagogues  throughout  all 2'  z/of.s 
Galilee,  and  cast  out  devils.^ 


474 


TEE  GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 
Healing  of  a  Leper,  and  of  a  Paralytic. 


Matt.  iv.  23-25. 
—    viii.2-4. 
Marki.  40-45. 
Luke  V.  12  -  Iti. 


a  man  full  of 

leprosy.  3 
h  there  came. '  2 
c  kneeling  down 

to  him.  - 
d  beseeching.  2 


ehe.S 

/and  saith  unto 
him.  2 


g  his  leprosy,  i 
A  Jesus.  1^ 


t  tell  no.  1    to 

tell  no  3 
k  and  shew.  ^ 

I  the  gift  that. ' 
according  as. 


m  him.  3 

"insomuch  that.' 
o  Jesus.  2 
p  and.  3 
q  they.  2 


r  was  without  in. 


AND  Jesus  went  about  all  Galilee,  teachiug  in  their 
synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  king- 
dom, and  healing  all  manner  of  sickness  and  all  manner  of 
disease  among  the  people.  And  his  fame  went  throughout 
all  Syria  :  and  they  brought  unto  him  all  sick  people  that 
were  taken  with  divers  diseases  and  torments,  and  those 
which  were  possessed  with  devils,  and  those  which  were 
lunatic,  and  those  that  had  the  palsy ;  and  he  healed 
them.  And  there  followed  him  great  multitudes  of  people 
from  Galilee,  and  from  Decapolis,  and  from  Jerusalem,  and 
from  Judsea,  and  from  beyond  Jordan.^ 

And  it  came  to  pass  when  he  was  in  a  certain  city,  be- 
hold ^  a  leper,^"  who  seeing  Jesus,^  came^*  to  hinij^and'^ 
fell  on  his  face,^*^  and  worshipped  him/  and  besought '^  him, 
saying  ^  unto  him,^ 

"  Lord,  if  thou  wilt,  thou  canst  make  me  clean."  ^ 

And  Jesus,*  moved  with  compassion,  put  forth  his  hand, 
and  touched  him,-  saying,^/ 

"  I  will ;  be  thou  clean." 

And  as  soon  as  he  had  spoken,  immediately  the  lepi'osy 
departed  from  him,  and  he  ?  was  cleansed. 

And  he  ^  straitly  charged  him,  and  forthwith  sent  him 
away  ;  and  saith  unto  him, 

"See  thou  say  nothing  to  any 'man:  but  go  thy  way, 
shew ''  thyself  to  the  priest,  and  offer  for  thy  cleansing 
those  things  which '  Moses  commanded  for  a  testimony 
unto  them." 

But  he  went  out,  and  liegan  to  publish  it  miich,  and  to 
blaze  abroad  the  matter,"  and^  so  much  the  more  went 
there  a  fame  abroad  of  ^  Jesus,^  "'  that^"  he  ^^  could  no 
more  openly  enter  into  the  city,^  for  ^p  great  multitudes  ' 
came  together  ^  to  him  from  every  quarter,'^  to  hear,  and 
to  be  healed  by  him  of  their  infirmities.^  And  he  with- 
drew himself  into^''  desert  places'^  in '^  the  wilderness, 
and  ^  there  ^  prayed.* 


A  PARALYTIC.  475 

And  again  he  entered  into  Capernaum,  after  some  days.^  JJ^^^*-  j.^- ^  -  7. 

°  1  '  ■;         Mark  u.  1-12. 

And  it  came  to  pass  on  a  certain  day,  as  he  was  teaching,  Luke  v.  17-25. 
that  ^  it  was  noised  that  he  was  in  the  house.  And  straight- 
way many  were  gathered  together,  insomuch  that  there 
was  no  room  to  receive  them,  no,  not  so  much  as  about  the 
door  :  and  he  preached  the  word  unto  them.  And  ^  there 
were  Pharisees  and  doctors  of  the  law  sitting  by,  which 
were  come  out  of  every  town  of  Gahlee,  and  Judaea,  and 
Jeru-salem  :  and  the  power  of  the  Lord  was  present  to  heal     „     ,       ,    . 

'■  A  a  they  brought,  i 

them.     And,  behold,^  they  come  "  unto  *  him,  bringing  ^  a     ™en  brought. » 
man,^ "  sick  of  the  '^  palsy,^  ly^^S  on  *  a  bed  ^  which  was  e  one.  2 
borne  of  four  :^  and  they  sought  means  to  bring  him  in,  '' lu  wUh  a^  3'^''' 
and  to  lay  him  before  him.     And  when  they  could  not  find  ^  ^^-  ^ 
by  what  way   they  might  bring  him  in/  because   of  the /cope nigh  unto 
multitude,^  they  went  upon  the  housetop,  and  ^  uncovered  0  for  the  press.  2 
the  roof  where  he  was  :  and  when  they  had  broken  it  up,  ^  couch.s  the  bed 

''  i  '      wherein  the 

they  let'^  him  down  through  the  tiling  with  his^  bcd^^  into     sick  of  the  palsy 
the  midst  before  Jesus.     And  when  he  *  saw  '^  their  faith,  « Jesus.  2 
he  said  unto  ^  the  sick  of  the  palsy,^ '  i  huiJ°f' 

"  Son,'"  be  of  good  cheer  ;  thy  sins  ^  are  "  forgiven  thee."  ®  *"  ^^a.n.3 

'  ^  'J  to  n  be.  1  2 

And,  behold,^"  the  ^  scribes  and  Pharisees  ^  who  were  ^  o  but  there  were.s 
sitting  there  ^  began  to  reason  ^  ?  in  their  hearts,^  and  said  ^  *■  ^  reasoaiu'^  '2  "^  " 
within  themselves,^  '•saying.^ 

"  This  man  blasphemeth."  ^ 

"  Who  is  this  which  speaketh  blasphemies  ?  "  ^ 

"  Why  doth  this  man  thus  speak  blasphemies  1"^ 

"  Who  can  forgive  sins,  but  God  alone  V  ^^  s only. 2 

And  immediately'  when  Jesus^  (knowing  their  thoughts)^  '  i^"'-* 
perceived  in  his  spirit  that  they  so  reasoned  within  them- 
selves," he,  answering,^  said  unto  them,^  « their  thoughts.3 

"  Wherefoi'e  think  ye  evil  in  your  hearts'?^    And^  why™  ^'what.s 
reason  ye  these  things  in  your  hearts'?^     For,^  whether  is 
it  easier  to  say  to  the  sick  of  the  palsy,  '  Thy  sins  be  for- 
given thee  ' ;  or  to  say,  'Arise,''  and  take  up  thy  bed,  and  =^  Rise  up.  3 
walk"?     But  that  ye  may  know  that  the  Son  of  man  hath 
power  on  2'  earth  to  forgive  sins,"  ^  i/upnn.^ 

-,    \     ■,  -,       1  2  said.  3 

Then  saith  '  he  to  "  tlie  sick  of  the  palsy,^  «  unto.  3 

"I  say  unto  thee,  Arise,  and  take  up  thy  bed,^  and  go  ^ 30*^13 
thy  way  into  "  thine  house."  </roseup.3 

And  immediately  he  arose,**  took '  up  the  bed  ^/  whereon  ^  /'that. 3 


476 


TEE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  ix.  7-9. 
Markii.  12-14. 
Luku  v.25-28. 

a  insomuch  that. 

And.^ 
6  were    all 

amazed.  2  3 


<•  Jesus.  1 
''  forth  from 

thence. i 
<■  man.  i 
/  Matthew,  i 
V  saith.  1 

''  rose  up.  3 


he  lay,^  and  went  forth  before  them  all,^  and  departed  to 
his  own  house,  glorifying  God.^  But  °  when  the  multitudes 
saw  it,  they  marvelled,^  ^  and  were  filled  with  fear,^  and 
glorified  God,  which  had  given  such  power  unto  men,^ 
saying, 

"  We  never  saw  it  on  this  fashion."  ^ 

"  We  have  seen  strange  things  to-day."  ' 

And  after  these  things,^  he  went  forth  again  by  the  sea- 
side ;  and  all  the  multitude  resorted  unto  him,  and  he 
taught  them.  And  as  he  '^  passed  by,**  he  saw  ^  a  publican ' 
named  ^  Levi/  the  son  of  Alpheus  sitting  at  the  receipt  of 
custom,  and  -  he  ^  said  s  unto  him, 

"Follow  me." 

And  he  arose  ^  '^  left  all,^  and  followed  him.^ 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Healing  of  a  Man  on   the  Sabbath,    and  consequent   Dis- 


John  V.  1  -  7.  A    FTER  this  there  was  a  feast  of  the  Jews  ;  and  Jesus 

-^^     went  up  to  Jerusalem. 

Now  there  is  at  Jerusalem  by  the  sheep  market  a  pool, 
which  is  called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  Bethesda,  having 
five  porches.  In  these  lay  a  gi-eat  multitude  of  impotent 
folk,  of  blind,  halt,  withered,  waiting  for  the  moving  of  the 
water.  (For  an  angel  went  down  at  a  certain  season  into 
the  pool,  and  troubled  the  water  :  whosoever  then  first  after 
the  troubling  of  the  water  stepped  in  was  made  whole  of 
whatsoever  disease  he  had.)  And  a  certain  man  was  there, 
which  had  an  infirmity  thirty  and  eight  years.  When  Jesus 
saw  him  lie,  and  knew  that  he  had  been  now  a  long  time  in 
that  case,  he  saith  unto  him, 

"  Wilt  thou  be  made  whole  1 " 

The  impotent  man  answered  him, 

"  Sir,  I  have  no  man,  when  the  water  is  troubled,  to  put 
mc  into  the  pool :  but  while  I  am  coming,  another  steppeth 
down  before  me."* 


THE  SABBATH.  — THE  IMPOTENT  MAN.  i'J'j 

Jesus  saith  unto  him,  John  v.  8-23. 

"  Rise,  take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk." 

And  immediately  the  man  was  made  whole,  and  took  up 
his  bed,  and  walked  :  and  on  the  same  day  was  the  sab- 
bath. 

The  Jews  therefore  said  unto  him  that  was  cured, 

"  It  is  the  sabbath  day :  it  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to  cany 
thy  bed." 

He  answered  them, 

"  He  that  made  me  whole,  the  same  said  unto  me,  '  Take 
up  thy  bed,  and  walk.'  " 

Then  asked  they  him, 

"  What  man  is  that  which  said  unto  thee,  '  Take  up  thy 
bed,  and  \yalk '  1 " 

And  he  that  was  healed  wist  not  who  it  was :  for  Jesus 
had  conveyed  himself  away,  a  multitude  being  in  that 
place. 

Afterward  Jesus  findeth  him  in  the  temple,  and  said  unto 
him, 

"  Behold,  thou  art  made  whole  :  sin  no  more,  lest  a 
worse  thing  come  unto  thee." 

The  man  departed,  and  told  the  Jews  that  it  was  Jesus, 
which  had  made  him  whole.  And  therefore  did  the  Jews 
persecute  Jesus,  and  sought  to  slay  him,  because  he  had 
done  these  things  on  the  sabbath  day. 

But  Jesus  answered  them, 

"  My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work." 

Therefore  the  Jews  sought  the  more  to  kill  him,  because 
he  not  only  had  broken  the  sabbath,  but  said  also  that 
God  was  his  Father,  making  himself  equal  with  God. 

Then  answered  Jesus  and  said  unto  them, 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The  Son  can  do  nothing 
of  himself,  but  what  he  seeth  the  Father  do  :  for  what 
things  soever  he  doeth,  these  also  doeth  the  Son  likewise. 
For  the  Father  lovcth  the  Son,  and  sheweth  him  all  things 
that  himself  doeth  :  and  he  will  shew  him  greater  works 
than  these,  that  ye  may  marvel.  For  as  the  Father  rais- 
eth  up  the  dead,  and  quickeneth  them  ;  even  so  the  Son 
quickeneth  whom  he  will.  For  the  Father  judgeth  no  man, 
but  hath  committed  all  judgment  unto  the  Son  :  that  all* 


478  THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 

John  T^- 43.  men  should  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they  honor  the  Father. 
He  that  houoreth  not  the  Son,  honoreth  not  the  Father 
which  hath  sent  him. 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  He  that  heareth  my  word, 
and  believeth  on  him  that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life, 
and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation  ;  but  is  passed  from 
death  unto  life. 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The  hour  is  coming,  and 
now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
God  :  and  they  that  hear  shall  live.  For  as  the  Father 
hath  life  in  himself ;  so  hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to  have 
life  in  himself ;  and  hath  given  him  authority  to  execute 
judgment  also,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  man.  Marvel  not 
at  this  :  for  the  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are 
in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth  ; 
they  that  have  done  good,  unto  the  resun-ection  of  life ; 
and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  dam- 
nation. 

"  I  can  of  mine  own  self  do  nothing  :  as  I  hear,  I  judge  : 
and  my  judgment  is  just ;  because  I  seek  not  mine  own 
will,  but  the  will  of  the  Father  which  hath  sent  me. 

"  If  I  bear  witness  of  myself,  my  witness  is  not  true. 
Thei'e  is  another  that  beareth  witness  of  me ;  and  I  know 
that  the  witness  which  he  witnesseth  of  me  is  true.  Ye 
sent  unto  John,  and  he  bare  witness  unto  the  truth.  But 
I  receive  not  testimony  from  man  :  but  these  things  I  say, 
that  ye  might  be  saved.  He  was  a  burning  and  a  shining 
light  :  and  ye  were  willing  for  a  season  to  rejoice  in  his 
light.  But  I  have  greater  witness  than  that  of  John  :  for 
the  works  which  the  Father  hath  given  me  to  finish,  the 
same  works  that  I  do,  bear  witness  of  me,  that  the  Father 
hath  sent  me.  And  the  Father  himself,  which  hath  sent 
me,  hath  borne  witness  of  me.  Ye  have  neither  heard  his 
voice  at  any  time,  nor  seen  his  shape.  And  ye  have  not 
his  word  abiding  in  you  :  for  whom  he  hath  sent,  him  ja 
believe  not.  Search  the  scriptures  ;  for  in  them  ye  think 
ye  have  eternal  life  :  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of 
me.  And  ye  will  not  come  to  me,  that  ye  might  have  life. 
I  receive  not  honor  from  men.  But  I  know  you,  that  ye 
have  not  the  love  of  God  in  you.      I  am  come  in  my* 


THE  SABBATH.  479 

Father's  name,  and  ye  receive  me  not:  if  another  shall  John v^- 47. 
come  in  his  own  name,  him  ye  will  receive.  How  can  ye 
believe,  which  receive  honor  one  of  another,  and  seek  not 
the  honor  that  cometh  from  God  only?  Do  not  think 
that  I  will  accuse  you  to  the  Father  :  there  is  one  that 
accuseth  you,  even  Moses,  in  whom  ye  trust.  For  had  ye 
believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  believed  me  :  for  he  wrote 
of  me.  But  if  ye  believe  not  his  writings,  how  shall  ye 
believe  my  words  %"  ^ 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Christ's    Teaching  as  to  the  Sabbath.  —  The    Ordination   of 
the  Twelve  Apostles. 


A 


ND  it  came  to  pass^  at  that  time,'  beinj^  ^  «  the  second  Matt,  xii  1-7. 

^  ^  Mark  n.  23-26. 

sabbath^  after  the  first,  that  ^  Jesus'^  went-'  through  Luke  vi.  1-4. 
the  corn'  fields;^  and  his  disciples  were'  a^*^  hungred,  and  «on. 3 

,  ,  „  -,■,,,,  r-  ii/"''o°  '^6  sabbath 

began,'  as  they  went,''  to  pluck'  trie  eai'S  of  corn,  and  to-/       day.  12 
eat,'  rubbing  them   in  their  hands.^     But  when  '  s"  certain  ^^^"  "j 
of  ^  the  Pharisees  saw  it  they  said  unto  him,^  ''  plucked.  3 

/did.  ^ 

"  Behold,  thy  disciples  do  that  which  is  not  lawful  to  do  s  And.s 

upon •■  the  sabbath  day.' *     Why  do  they  ^ '  do  so  ?' '  ^  J ^^^f^ ' 

But  '"•  Jesus,"  answering,^  said  unto  them,  t  days.  3 

"  Have  ye  not"  read'  so  much  as  this,^  what  David  did,  m And. 2 3 

when  he'^   and  they  which  ^   were  with  him^  were   a^**  "^e.  12 

J  o  never.  " 

hungred,'  and  ^  had  need  1"^  how  he  entered*  into  the  house  p himself. 3 
of  God,'  in  the  days  of  Abiathar  the  high-priest,^  and  did  ,.  ^^  ,^„  1 2  3 
take  and  eat  the  shewbread,  and  gave  also  to  them  that  *  ^^nt.  2  3 
were  with  him  ;  ^  which  it  was  '  not  lawful  for  him  to  eat,  <  is.  2  a 
neither  for  them  which  were  with  him,  but  only"  for  the  « alone,  s 
priests  1     Or  have  ye  not  read  in  the  law,  how  that  on  the 
sabbath  days  the  priests  in  the  temple  profane  the  sabbath, 
and   are   blameless?     But   I   say  unto    you,   That  in  this 
place  is  one  greater  than  the  temple.    But  if  ye  had  known 
what  this  meaneth, 

"  '  I  will  have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,' 
ye  would  not  have  condemned  the  guiltless."  ^ 


480  THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 

Markifblis.^-        A^^  ^^e  sfiif^  'into  them, 

L^eTll-ii.  "The  sabbath   was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the 

a  For.  i~~ihat.  3    sabbath  :  therefore  «  the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  *  of  the 
6  even,  i  Sabbath  ^  day. "  ^ 

And  it  came  to  pass  also  on  another  sabbath,^  when  he 

c  went  into  thcir.i  was  departed  thence/  that  he  entered^  again  ^  into  the'' 

synagogue   and  taught :  and,^  behold,   there  was  a   man  ^ 

rf  which  had  his    there  ^  whose  right  hand  was  withered.^  ^     And  they  asked 

hand  withered.l   ,  .  .  " 

which  had  a       him,  saymg, 

withered  hand.2         ,,  t     ■.   ^        r   i  i        ■,  ■,  ■,  ■,       •.-.  ■, 

Is  it  lawful  to  heal  on  the  sabbath  days  ?  "  ^ 
And  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  watched  him,  whether  he 
would  heal  ^  him  ^  on   the   sabbath  day ;  that   they  might 
e  accuse.  1 2         fli^fj  ^^^^  accusatioii  against  *  him. 

■^ "unto ^2'''"'^  But  he  knew  their  thoughts,  and  said  to/  the  man  which 

had  the  withered  hand, 

"  Rise  up,  and  stand  forth  in  the  midst." 
And  he  arose  and  stood  foi-th. 
Then  said  Jesus  unto/  them, 

"■  I  will  ask  you   one  thing  ;  Is  it  lawful  on  the  sabbath 
days  to  do  good,  or  to  do  evil  ?  to  save  life,  or  to  destroy 
skiU.2  itl"^^ 

But  they  held  their  peace.  And  he  said  unto  them, 
"  What  man  shall  there  be  among  you,  that  shall  have 
one  sheep,  and  if  it  fall  into  a  pit  on  the  sabliath  day,  will 
he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and  lift  it  out  1  How  much  then  is  a 
man  better  than  a  sheep  1  Wherefore  it  is.  lawful  to  do  well 
on  the  sabbath  days.-' " 
k  then.i  looking.3       ^j^^j  ^^,|jgj-^  ^iQ  had  looked  ^  round  about  on  '  them  ^  all  ^ 

t  upon. 3 

with  anger,^  being  grieved  for  the  hardness  of  their  hearts, 
*  said.  3  he  saith  *  unto  '  the  man, 

« to.  1  ' 

m  thy.  3  "  Stretch  forth  thine  "*  hand." 

RdidE 
oit.  1 

whole  like  ^  as  the  other.'' 
r  And  they.  3  Then  the  Pharisees  ^^  were   filled  with  madness;^  and^ 

9  forth.  2  went   out  ^  '  and  communed   one  with  another  what  they 

'^  against  him  "    might  do  to  Jcsus,^  *■  and  straightway  took  counsel  with  the 
Herodians  against  him,  how  they  might  destroy  him.^ 

But  when  Jesus  knew  it,  he  withdrew  himself,^  with  his 

disciples,-   from    thence,^    to    the   sea ;  ^   and   great    multi- 

^SdTa"'""'"     ^'^i*i<^'^^'  fr<^i'i  Calilec  followed  him,  and  from  Judaea,  and'' 


«didso.3  forth.i      ^^^  ^^  stretched  it  out :"  and  his  hand"  was  restored 


THE  TWELVE  APOSTLES.  481 

from  Jerusalem,  and  from  Idumea,  and  from  beyond  Jor-  ^^' li^{^:<^ 
dan ;  and  they  about  Tyre  and  Sidon,  a  great  multitude,  ^^^  ^'-  ^g'i^ 
when  they  had  heard  what  great  things  he  did,  came  unto  — 

him,-  and  he  healed  them  all.^ 

And  he  spake  to  his  disciples,  that  a  small  ship  should 
wait  on  him  because  of  the  multitude,  lest  they  should 
throng  him.  For  he  had  healed  many ;  insomuch  that 
they  pressed  upon  him  for  to  touch  him,  as  many  as  had 
plagues.  And  unclean  spirits,  when  they  saw  him,  fell 
down  before  him,  and  cried,  saying, 

"  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God  !  " 

And  he  straitly  charged  them  that  they  should  not  make 
him  known  :  ^  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken 
by  ^  Isaiah  ^ "  the  prophet,  saying,  °  Esaias.  i 

"Behold  my  servant,  whom  I  have  chosen  ; 
My  beloved,  in  whom  my  soul  is  well  pleased  : 
I  will  put  my  spirit  upon  him,  > 

And  he  shall  sheAV  judgment  to  the  Gentiles. 
He  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry  ; 

Neither  shall  any  man  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets. 
A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break, 
And  smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench, 
Till  he  send  forth  judgment  unto  victory. 
And  in  his  name  shall  the  Gentiles  trust."  ^  *  6  Isaiah xlii.  1-3. 

And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days,  that  he  went  out  '^  c  goeth  up. 
into  a  mountain  to  pray,  and  continued  all  night  in  prayer 
to  God.  And  when  it  was  day,  he  called''  unto  him  *  ^  caUeth.  a 
whom  he  would  ^  of  ®  his  disciples  ;  ^  and  they  came  unto 
him  :  ^  and  of  them  he  chose  ^  and  ^  ordained  ^  twelve, 
whom  also  he  named  apostles  ;  ®  that  they  should  be  with 
him,  and  that  he  might  send  them  forth  to  preach,  and  to 
have  power  to  heal  sicknesses,  and  to  cast  out  devils. '^ 

Now  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  are  these ;  the 
first,^'  Simon,  whom  he  also  named,^/  and  ^  who  is  called  ^a^^.s 

/sumamed.  2 

Peter,  and  Andrew  his  brother ;  and  James  the  son  of 
Zebedee,  and  John  the  s  brother  of  James ;  and  he  sur-  a  his.  i 
named  them  Boanerges,  which  is  "  The  sons  of  thunder  "  ;  ^ 
and  Philip  and  Bartholomew ;  and  Matthew  ^  the  publican ;  ^ 
and  Thomas,  and  James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  and  Judas' 
or**  Lebbeus,  whose  surname  was  Thaddeus,^  the  brother  of^ 
31 


4S2  TEE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 

Mark  m.  18  19.    J^^^es  ;  ^  and  Simon  the  Canaamte,^  called  Zelotes,^   and 

Luke  yj.  15-19.    Judas  Iscariot,^  who  "  also  betrayed  him.^* 

a  which.  2  ^j^j  ]^q  came  down  with  them,  and  stood   in  the  plain, 

0  was  the  traitor.'  '■ 

and  the  company  of  his  disciples,  and  a  great  multitude  of 
people  out  of  all  Judsea  and  Jerusalem,  and  from  the  sea- 
coast  of  T}Te  and  Sidon,  which  came  to  hear  him,  and  to 
be  healed  of  their  diseases ;  and  they  that  were  vexed  with 
unclean  spirits  :  and  they  were  healed.  And  the  whole 
multitude  sought  to  touch  him  :  for  there  went  vktue  out 
of  him,  and  healed  them  all.^ 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

The  Sermon  on,  the  3£ount. 


Matt.  V.  1-12.         A    ND  seeing  the  multitudes,  he  went  up  into  a  moun- 
—      '    -^^^  tain  :  and  when  he  was  set,  his  disciples  came  xmto 
him.^     And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  on  his  disciples,^  and  ^ 
c  said.  8  opened  his  mouth,  and  tavight  them,  saying," 

''iseye.a  "  Blcsscd  are  the''  poor  in   spirit:   for    theirs'    is   the 

/God. 8  kingdom  of  heaven./ 

£/ye.3  "Blessed  are  theyS"  that  mourn ^''  now  :^  for  they^  shall 

t  laugh.  8  ^6  comforted.* 

"  Blessed  are  the  meek  :  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth. 
^  ye. '  "  Blessed  are  they  *  which  '  do  hunger  and  thirst  after 

righteousness  -^  now  :  ^  for  they  ^  shall  be  filled. 

''  Blessed  are  the  merciful ;  for  they  shall  obtain  mei'cy. 
"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart :  for  they  shall  see  God. 
"  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers  :  for  they  shall  be  called 
the  children  of  God. 

"  Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  righteousness' 
sake  :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

"  Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  ^  hate,^  revile,^  and  per- 
secute you,  and  when  they  shall  separate  you  from  their 
company,  and  shall  reproach  you,  and  *  say  all  manner  of 
m  cast  out  your    gyii  as:ainst  vou "»  falsclv,  for  my"  sake.     Rejoice^  ve  in 

name  as  evil.  3  toJ  ^'  J  ''  n      \ 

"the  Son  of        that  day,  and  leap  for  joy,^  and  be  exceeding  glad:  for' 
«>theUke,8         behold,*  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven:   for^  in  like*" 


SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  483 

manner  did  their  fathers  unto  "  the  prophets  ^  which  were  ^^*-  ^-  ^|"  ^■ 

before  you  !i  ^        « so  pe'^^^^uted 

"  But  woe  unto  you  that  are  rich  !  for  ye  have  received     *^ey- ' 
yoTir  consolation. 

"  Woe  unto  you  that  are  full !  for  ye  shall  hunger. 

"  Woe  unto  you  that  laugh  now  !  for  ye  shall  mourn  and 
weep. 

"  Woe  unto  you,  when  all  men  shall  speak  well  of  you  ! 
for  so  did  their  fathers  to  the  false  prophets.^ 

"  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  :  but  if  the  salt  have  lost 
his  savor,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted?  it  is  thenceforth 
good  for  nothing,  but  to  be  cast  out,  and  to  be  trodden 
under  foot  of  men. 

'*  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.  A  city  that  is  set  on^ 
a^*  hill  cannot  be  hid.  Neither  do  men  light  a  candle,  *aii.i 
and  put  it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick ;  and  it 
giveth  light  unto  all  that  are  in  the  house.  Let  your  light 
so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works, 
and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

"  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law,  or  the 
prophets  :  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  For 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot 
or  one  tittle  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be 
fulfilled.  Whosoever  therefore  shall  break  one  of  these 
least  commandments,  and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be 
called  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  but  whosoever 
shall  do  and  teach  them,  the  same  shall  be  called  great  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  For  I  say  unto  you,  That  except 
your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time, 
'  Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  and  whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be  in 
danger  of  the  judgment ' :  but  I  say  unto  you.  That  whoso- 
ever is  angry  with  his  brother  without  a  cause  shall  be  in 
danger  of  the  judgment :  and  whosoever  shall  say  to  his 
brother,  '  Raca,'  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  council :  but 
whosoever  shall  say,  '  Thou  fool,'  shall  be  in  danger  of  hell 
fire.  Therefore  if  thou  bring  thy  gift  to  the  altar,  and 
there  rememberest  that  thy  brother  hath  ought  against^ 


484 


THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  V.  24-40. 
Luke  vi.  27-29. 


a  unto  him  that 

smitcth.  3 
h  the  one.  3 
c  ofTer.  3 
d  him.  3 
e  that  takcth.s 
/cloke.  3 


thee  ;  leave  there  thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  way ; 
first  be  reconciled  to  thy  brother,  and  then  come  and  offer 
thy  gift.  Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly,  whiles  thou 
art  in  the  way  with  him ;  lest  at  any  time  the  adversary 
deliver  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the  judge  deliver  thee  to  the 
officer,  and  thon  be  cast  into  prison.  Verily  I  say  unto 
thee,  Thou  shalt  by  no  means  come  out  thence,  till  thou 
hast  paid  the  uttermost  farthing. 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time, 
'  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery ' :  but  I  say  unto  you, 
That  whosoever  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her  hath 
committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart.  And  if 
thy  right  eye  offend  thee,  pluck  it  out,  and  cast  it  from 
thee  :  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one  of  thy  members 
should  perish,  and  not  that  thy  whole  body  should  be  cast 
into  hell.  And  if  thy  right  hand  offend  thee,  cut  it  off, 
and  cast  it  from  thee  :  for  it  is  profitable  for  thee  that  one 
of  thy  members  should  perish,  and  not  that  thy  whole 
body  should  be  cast  into  hell. 

"  It  hath  been  said,  *  Whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife, 
let  him  give  her  a  writing  of  divorcement '  :  but  I  say 
unto  you.  That  whosoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  saving 
for  the  cause  of  fornication,  causeth  her  to  commit  adul- 
tery :  and  whosoever  shall  marry  her  that  is  divorced  com- 
mitteth  adultery. 

"  Again,  ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said  by  them  of 
old  time,  '  Thou  shalt  not  forswear  thyself,  but  shalt  per- 
form unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths ' :  but  I  say  unto  you, 
Swear  not  at  all ;  neither  by  heaven ;  for  it  is  God's  throne  : 
nor  by  the  earth ;  for  it  is  his  footstool :  neither  by  Jeru- 
salem ;  for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  King.  Neither  shalt 
thou  swear  by  thy  head,  because  thou  canst  not  make  one 
hair  white  or  black.  But  let  your  communication  be  '  Yea,' 
'yea';  'Nay,'  'nay';  for  whatsoever  is  more  than  these 
cometh  of  evil. 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  '  An  eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth '  :  but  I  say  unto  you,  That  ye 
resist  not  evil :  but  whosoever  shall  smite  "  thee  on  thy 
right '  cheek,  turn  to  him "  the  other  also.  And  if  any 
man  ^  will  sue  thee  at  the  law,  and  take '  away  thy  coat,^/ 


SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  485 

let  him  have"  thy  cloke^  also.  And  whosoever  shall  com-  Matt. v. 40-^48. 
pel  thee  to  go  a  mile,  go  with  him  twain.  Give  to  him  "^  ^"^/J^-^^'^*^' 
that  asketh  ^  of  ^  thee,  and  from  him  that  would  borrow  of     ^     - — , , 

'  a  forbid  not  to 

thee  tm-n  not  thou  away.^     And  of  him  that  taketh  away     take.* 

1       1  •     a  b  coat.  3 

thy  goods  ask  them  not  agam.  c  erery  man.  3 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  *  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbor,  and  hate  thine  enemy.'  But  I  say  unto 
you  ^  which  hear,  Love  your  enemies,^  bless  them  that 
curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  ^  hate  you,  and  pray  for  d  which.  3 
them  which  despitefully  use  you,  and  persecute  you ;  that 
ye  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  : 
for  he  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good, 
and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.  For  if  ye 
love  them  which  love  you,  what  reward  *  have  ye  %  ^  for  sin-  « thank.  3 
ners  also  love  those  that  love  them.^  Do  not  even  the 
publicans  the  same  1  And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren  only, 
what  do  ye  more  than  others  ?  Do  not  even  the  publicans 
so  1  ^  And  if  ye  do  good  to  them  which  do  good  to  you, 
what  thank  have  ye  1  For  sinners  also  do  even  the  same. 
And  if  ye  lend  to  them  of  whom  ye  hope  to  receive,  what 
thank  have  ye  1  For  sinners  also  lend  to  sinners,  to  receive 
as  much  again.  But  love  ye  your  enemies,  and  do  good, 
and  lend,  hoping  for  nothing  again  ;  and  your  reward  shall 
be  great,  and  ye  shall  be  the  children  of  the  Highest :  for 
he  is  kind  unto  the  unthankful  and  to  the  evil.  Be  ye 
therefore  merciful,  as  your  Father  also  is  merciful.^  And  ^ 
be  ye  ^  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is 
pei'fect. 

"  Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  alms  before  men,  to  be 
seen  of  them  :  otherwise  jq  have  no  rewai'd  of  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven.  Therefore  when  thou  doest  thine  alms, 
do  not  sound  a  trumpet  before  thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do  in 
the  synagogues  and  in  the  streets,  that  they  may  have 
glory  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  They  have  their 
reward.  But  when  thou  doest  alms,  let  not  thy  left  hand 
know  what  thy  right  hand  doeth  :  that  thine  alms  may  be 
in  secret  :  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  himself 
shall  reward  thee  openly. 

"  And  when  thou  prayest,  thou  shalt  not  be  as  the  hypo- 
crites are  :  for  they  love  to  pray  standing  in  the  syna-  ^ 


486  THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 

Matt,  vi^-23.  gogues  and  in  the  comers  of  the  streets,  that  they  may  be 
seen  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  They  have  their 
reward.  But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  clos- 
et, and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father 
which  is  in  secret ;  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret 
shall  reward  thee  openly.  But  when  ye  pray,  use  not  vain 
repetitions,  as  the  heathen  do  :  for  they  think  that  they 
shall  be  heard  for  their  much  speaking.  Be  not  ye  there- 
fore like  unto  them  :  for  your  Father  knoweth  what  things 
ye  have  need  of,  before  ye  ask  him.  After  this  manner 
therefore  pray  ye  :  — 

"  Our  Father  wliich  art  in  heaven, 
Hallowed  be  thy  name. 
Thy  kingdom  come. 

Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven. 
Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread. 
And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our  debtors. 
And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  e\dl : 
For  thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  forever. 
Amen. 

"  For  if  ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly 
Father  will  also  forgive  you  :  but  if  ye  forgive  not  men 
their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  foi-give  your  tres- 
passes. 

"  Moreover  when  ye  fast,  be  not,  as  the  hypocrites,  of  a 
sad  countenance  :  for  they  disfigure  their  faces,  that  they 
may  appear  unto  men  to  fast.  Verily  I  say  unto  you. 
They  have  their  reward.  But  thou,  when  thou  fastest, 
anoint  thine  head,  and  w\ash  thy  face ;  that  thou  appear  not 
unto  men  to  fast,  but  unto  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret  : 
and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  reward  thee 
openly. 

"  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  where 
moth  and  rust  doth  cornipt,  and  where  thieves  break  through 
and  steal :  but  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven, 
where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where 
thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal :  for  where  your 
treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also.  The  light  of  the 
body  is  the  eye  :  if  therefore  thine  eye  be  single,  thy  whole 
body  shall  be  full  of  light.  But  if  thine  eye  be  evil,  thy 
whole  body  shall  bo  full  of  darkness.     If  therefore  the  ^ 


SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT.  487 

light  that  is  in  thee  be  darkness,  how  great  is  that  dark-  Matt •■^•.23-^34. 
ness  !  No  man  can  serve  two  masters  :  for  either  he  will  Lu^evi.  37-40. 
hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other ;  or  else  he  will  hold  to 
the  one,  and  despise  the  other.  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and 
mammon.  Therefore  I  say  unto  you.  Take  no  thought  for 
your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink ;  nor 
yet  for  your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.  Is  not  the  life 
more  than  meat,  and  the  body  than  raiment  1  Behold  the 
fowls  of  the  air;  for  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap, 
nor  gather  into  barns ;  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth 
them.  Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they  ]  Which  of  you 
by  taking  thought  can  add  one  cubit  unto  his  stature? 
And  why  take  ye  thought  for  raiment  1  Consider  the  lilies 
of  the  field,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 
spin  :  and  yet  I  say  unto  you.  That  even  Solomon  in  aU 
his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  Wherefore,  if 
God  so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to- 
morrow is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not  much  more  clothe 
you,  0  ye  of  little  faith  1  Therefore  take  no  thought,  say- 
ing '  What  shall  we  eat  ? '  or,  *  What  shall  we  drink  1 '  or, 
'  Wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed  1 '  (for  after  all  these 
things  do  the  Gentiles  seek :)  for  your  heavenly  Father 
knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things.  But  seek 
ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteousness ;  and 
all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.  Take  therefore 
no  thought  for  the  morrow  :  for  the  morrow  shall  take 
thought  for  the  things  of  itself.  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is 
the  evil  thereof. 

"Judge  not,  and  ye  shall  not  be"  judged.^  For  with  <»  that  ye  be  not.i 
what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged  :^  condemn 
not,  and  ye  shall  not  be  condemned  :  forgive,  and  ye  shall 
be  forgiven  :  give,  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you ;  good 
measure,  pressed  down,  and  shaken  together,  and  running 
over,  shall  men  give  into  your  bosom.     For  *  with  the  same  °  '>  ^^i-  ^ 

•  1     1    •        1     n  1  1  c  what.  1 

measure  that  ye  mete  withal  it  shall  be  measured  to  you 
again." 

And  he  spake  a  parable  unto  them, 

"  Can  the  blind  lead  the  blind  1  Shall  they  not  both 
fall  into  the  ditch  1  The  disciple  is  not  above  his  master  : 
but  every  one  that  is  perfect  shall  be  as  his  master.     And^ 


488 


THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  711.3-20. 
Lukevi.  31,41- 
45. 

a  considerest.  i 
feOr.i 
c  wilt.  1 
d  out  of.  1 

«  and,  behold,  a 
beam,  i 

/cast.  1 


g  And  as.  3 

A  also  to  them 
likewise.  3 


i  For  of  thorns 
men  do  not 
gather  figs. 3 

<:  nor  of  a  bram- 
ble bush  gather 
they  grapes.  3 

I  bringeth  not.  3 

"'  corrupt.  3 

n  doth. 3 


why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye, 
but  perceivest "  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own  eye  1 
Either'  how  canst"  thou  say  to  thy  brother,  'Brother,  let 
me  pull  out  the  mote  that  is  in*^  thine  eye,'  when  thou 
thyself  beholdest  not  the  beam  that «  is  in  thine  own  eye  ] 
Thou  hypocrite,  cast  out  first  the  beam  out  of  thine  own 
eye,  and  then  shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  pull/ out  the  mote 
that  is  in  ^  thy  brother's  eye.^ 

"  Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto  the  dogs,  neither  cast 
ye  your  pearls  before  swine,  lest  they  trample  them  under 
their  feet,  and  turn  again  and  rend  you. 

"  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find ; 
knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you  :  for  every  one  that 
asketh  receiveth  ;  and  he  that  seeketh  findeth ;  and  to  him 
that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened.  Or  what  man  is  there  of 
you,  whom  if  his  son  ask  bread,  will  he  give  him  a  stone  1 
Or  if  he  ask  a  fish,  will  he  give  him  a  serpent  1  If  ye  then, 
being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  yom-  chil- 
dren, how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven 
give  good  things  to  them  that  ask  him?  Therefore  all 
things  whatsoever  s  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do 
ye  even  so  to  them  :  *  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets. 

"  Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate  :  for  wide  is  the  gate,  and 
broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many 
there  be  which  go  in  thereat :  because  strait  is  the  gate, 
and  naiTOw  is  the  way,  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few 
there  be  that  find  it.  Beware  of  false  prophets,  which 
come  to  you  in  sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  they  are  rav- 
ening wolves.  Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits.^  For 
every  tree  is  known  by  his  own  fruit.^  Do  men  gather 
grapes  of  thorns,'  or  figs  of  thistles  1  *"  Even  so  every  good 
tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit ;  but  a  corrupt  tree  bringeth 
forth  evil  fruit.  A  good  tree  cannot  bring'  forth  evil"* 
fruit,  neither  can  "  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good  fruit. 
Every  tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down, 
and  cast  into  the  fire.  Wherefore  by  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them.^  A  good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  his 
heart  bringeth  forth  that  which  is  good ;  and  an  evil  man 
out  of  the  evil  treasure  of  his  heart  bringeth  fortli  that 
which  is  evil :  for  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  his  mouth 
speaketh.^ 


THE  CENTURION.  489 

"  And  why  call  ye  me,  *  Lord,  Lord,'  and  do  not  the  things  Luke  ^'46- 49^" 
which  I  say  1  ^     Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  '  Lord,  — 

Lord,'  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Many 
will  say  to  me  in  that  day,  'Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not 
prophesied  in  thy  name  %  and  in  thy  name  have  cast  out 
devils  1  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful  works'?' 
And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  '  I  never  knew  you  : 
depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity.' 

"  Thei-efore  whosoever^  cometh  to  me,  and^  heareth  these 
sayings  of  mine,"  and  doeth  them,  I  will  ^  shew  you  to  « my  eayinga.  3 
whom   he   is  like:  he  is  like^a^  wise  man,  which   built  ^likenhimunto.i 
his"  house,^  and  digged  deep,  and  laid  the  foundation  on"^  a  (^u^on.i 
rock  :  and  when  the  ^  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,*  ^  flood  arose-  3 
and   the  winds  blew,^  and  ^  the  stream   beat  vehemently 
■upon  that  house,  and  could  not  shake  it :  ^  it  fell  not,  for  it 
was  founded  upon  a  rock.-^     But  ^f  every  one  ^  that  heareth  /And.i 
these  sayings  of  mine,   and  doeth  them  not,'-  is  like^*  a  a  shau  be  likened 
foolish  man,  which  *  built  his  ^  house,^  without  a  founda-  ^  ^°z 
tion,^  upon  the  sand:'  and  the  rain  descended,   and  the  *;an.3 

'-  .  « earth.  3 

floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and'""  the  stream  did  beat  m  against  which. 3 
vehemently  ^  upon  that  house  ;  and '  immediately  it  fell ;  ^ 
and  great  was  the  fall "  of  it."  " 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Jesus  had  ended  these  sayings, 
the  people  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine  :  for  he  taught 
them  as  one  having  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes.^ 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

The  Healing  of  the  CentnriorCs  Servant,  and  the  Raising  of 
the   Widoiv's  Son  at  Rain. 

"AITOW  when  ^  Jesus  ^  J'  had  ended  all  his  sayings  in  the  Matt.  viii.  1, 5. 

rV  n  1  -'      o  Luke  TU.  1-3. 

-^^     audience  of  the  people,^  and  ^  was  comedown  from  — 

the  mountain,  great  multitudes  followed  him,^  and'  he?  gwas.i 
entered  into  Capernaum. 

And  a  certain  centurion's  servant,  who  was  dear  unto 
him,  was  sick  and  ready  to  die.     And  when  he  heard  of* 


n  ruin.  3 

o  that  house. ' 


490 


TEE  GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  viii.  5-13. 
Luke  vii.  3  - 11. 


«  there  came.  1 
6  a  centurion,  i 


c  him.  1 


d  answered  and 
said.  1 


ecome.i 
/say  in  a.  3 

g  to  this  tnan  1 


Ait.l 

i  to  them.  1 


thy. 


Jesus,  he  sent "  unto  him  the  elders  of  the  Jews,^  beseech- 
ing him  that  he  would  come  and  heal  his  servant,®  and 
saying, 

"  Lord,  my  servant  lieth  at  home,  sick  of  the  palsy, 
grievously  tormented."  ^ 

And  when  they  came  to  Jesus,  they  besought  him  in- 
stantly, saying,  that  he  was  worthy  for  whom  he  should  do 
this  :  "  For  he  loveth  our  nation,  and  he  hath  built  us  a 
synagogue."  ^ 

And  Jesus  saith  unto  ^  them,^ " 

"■  I  will  come  and  heal  him."  * 

Then  Jesus  went  with  them. 

And  when  he  was  now  not  far  from  the  house,  the  cen- 
turion sent  friends  to  him,*^  saying  unto  him, 

"  Lord,  trouble  not  thyself :  for  I  am  not  worthy  that 
thou  shouldest  enter*  under  my  roof:  wherefore  neither 
thought  I  myself  worthy  to  come  unto  thee  :  but  ®  speak 
the/ word  only,  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed.  For  I 
also  am  a  man  set  under  authority,  having  under  me 
soldiers,  and  I  say  unto  one,^'  '  Go,'  and  he  goeth ;  and  to 
another,  '  Come,'  and  he  cometh  ;  and  to  my  servant,  '  Do 
this,'  and  he  doeth  it." 

When  Jesus  heard  these  things,*  he  marvelled  at  him, 
and  turned  him  about,  and  said  unto  the  people  *  that 
followed  him,^ 

"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have  not  found  so  gi-eat  faith, 
no,  not  in  Israel.  And  I  say  unto  you,  That  many  shall 
come  from  the  east  and  west,  and  shall  sit  down  with 
Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
But  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  cast  out  into 
outer  darkness  :  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth." 

And  Jesus  said  unto  ^  them  that  were  sent  by  ^  the 
centurion, 

"  Go  ^  youi*  ^  *  way ;  and  '^  say,^  '  As  thou  hast  believed, 
so  be  it  done  imto  thee.'  "  ^ 

And  his  servant  was  healed  in  the  self-same  hour.^  And 
they  that  were  sent,  returning  to  the  house,  found  the  ser- 
vant whole  that  had  been  sick. 

And  it  came  to  pass  the  day  aftei',  that  ho  went  into  a  ^ 


NAIN.  —  JOHN  BAPTIST.  491 

city  called  Nain  ;  and  many  of  his  disciples  went  with  him,  Lnke-ni.  11-17. 
and  much  people.     Now  when  he  came  nigh  to  the  gate  of 
the   city,  behold,  there  was  a  dead  man  carried   out,  the 
only  son  of  his  mother,  and  she  was  a  widow  :  and  much 
people  of  the  city  was  with  her. 

And  when  the  Lord  saw  her,  he  had  compassion  on  her, 
and  said  unto  hei'j, 

"  Weep  not." 

And  he  came  and  touched  the  bier :  and  they  that  bare 
him  stood  still.     And  he  said, 

"  Young  man,  I  say  unto  thee.  Arise." 

And  he  that  was  dead  sat  up,  and  began  to  speak.  And 
he  delivered  him  to  his  mother. 

And  there  came  a  fear  on  all :  and  they  glorified  God, 
saying,  "  That  a  great  prophet  is  risen  up  among  us  "  ;  and, 
"That  God  hath  visited  his  people."  And  this  rumor  of 
him  went  forth  throughout  all  Judsea,  and  throughout  all 
the  region  round  about.^ 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

Jesiis  and  the  Disciples  of  John  Bajjtist.  —  Jesus's  Testimony/ 
of  John  Bajytist,  —  his  Condemnation  of  the  unbelieving 
Cities.  —  Jesus  anointed  by  a  Woman  at  a  Pharisee's 
House. 

"ATOW  when  John  had  heard  in  the  prison  the  works  of  L^g^' I'g^.a. 
-LN     Christ,^  for  ^  "  the  disciples  of  John  shewed  him  of  all  „^^T~ 
these  things,^  he,^  '   calling  unto  him  two  of  his  disciples,  6  and  John. » 
sent  them  to  Jesus,  saying  ^  '=  unto  him,^  =  and  said,  i 

"Art   thou   he   that    should   come?    or   look   we''   for ''do  we  look,  i 
another  1 " 

When  the  men  were  come  unto  him,  they  said, 

"  John  Baptist  hath  sent  us  unto  thee,  saying,  '  Art  thou 
he  that  should  come  %  or  look  we  for  another  1 '  " 

And  in  the  same  hour  he  cured  many  of  their  infirmities 
and  plagues,  and  of  evil  spirits  ;  and  unto  many  that  were 
blind  he  gave  sight.^ 


492 


THE  GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  xi.  4-18. 
Luke  Tii.  22-33. 

a  answered  and.  1 

b  shew,  i 

c  what.  1 

d  do  hear  and 
see.  1 

e  see. 3 

/  to  the  poor  the 
gospel  is 
preached.  ^ 

9  as.i 

h  they.i 

the.  3 

/c  say.i 

i  multitudes,  i 


m 'which.  8 
1  houses.  1 


^Malachiiii.  1. 
p  them  1 
9L3  not.  3 
r  but.  3 
«God.3 


'  Eliaa. i 


«  But  whereunto 
«>  thi.s.  I 
a;  it  is.l 
V  markets.  1 

2  unto  their  fel- 
lows, i 
a  to.  3 

b  lamented.  ^ 


Then  Jesus  answering  "  said  unto  them, 

*'  Go  your  way,  and  tell  *  John  ^  again  those "  things 
which  ye  ^  have  seen  and  heard  :  '^  how  that  ^  the  blind 
receive  their  sight,*  and  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are 
cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and 
the  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them./  And  blessed 
is  he  whosoever  shall  not  be  offended  in  me."  ^ 

And  when  s"  the  messengers  of  John  *  were  departed,* 
Jesus  ^  *  began  to  speak ''  unto  the  people '  concerning 
John, 

"  What  went  ye  out  into  the  wilderness  for  to  see  1  A 
reed  shaken  with  the  wind  ]  But  what  went  ye  out  for  to 
see  1  A  man  clothed  in  soft  raiment  1  Behold,  they  ^ 
that  "*  wear  soft  clothing  ^  and  ^  are  gorgeously  apparelled, 
and  live  delicately,  are  in  kings'  courts."  But  what  went 
ye  out  for  to  see  1  A  prophet  1  Yea,  I  say  unto  you,  and 
much  more  than  a  prophet.'  For  this  is  he,  of  whom  it  is 
written, 

"  '  Behold,  I  send  my  messenger  liefore  thy  face, 
Which  shall  prepare  thy  way  before  thee.'  ^^ 

For,"  verily  ^  I  say  unto  you.  Among  those  p  that  are  born 
of  women  there  ^  hath  not  risen  5  a  greater  ^  prophet  ^  than 
John  the  Baptist :  notwithstanding  ^  he  that  is  least  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  *  is  greater  than  he.  And  from  the 
days  of  John  the  Baptist  until  now  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by  force.  For  all 
the  prophets  and  the  law  prophesied  until  John.  And  if 
ye  will  receive  it,  this  is  ^  Elijah,^ '  which  was  for  to  come. 
He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.^  And  all  the  peo- 
ple that  heard  him,  and  the  publicans,  justified  God,  being 
baptized  with  the  baptism  of  John.  But  the  Pharisees  and 
lawyers  rejected  the  counsel  of  God  against  themselves, 
being  not  baptized  of  him." 

And  the  Lord  said, 

" "Wliereunto  then"  shall  I  liken  the  men  of  this"  gen- 
eration ]  and  to  what  are  they  like  1  They  are '  like  unto 
children  sitting  in  the  market-place,^  and  calling  one  to 
another,'  and  saying,  '  We  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye 
have  not  danced  ;  we  have  mourned  ^  unto '  "  you  and  ye 
have  not  wept.'  '      For  John  the  Baptist  came  neither  * 


UNBELIEVING  CITIES.— JESUS'  FEET  ANOINTED.  493 

eating  bread  nor  drinking  wine ;  and  ye  "  say,  'He  hath  a  Luke'^1'  33" £S 
devil.'     The  Son  of  man  is  come '  eating   and   drinking :     ,^   -;— 

°  ^  '   a  they.  1 

and  ye  "  say,  '  Behold  a  gluttonous  man,  and  a  winebibber,  &came.i 
a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners  ! '     But  wisdom  is  justified 
of  all  her  children,"^ 

Then  began  he  to  upbraid  the  cities  wherein  most  of  his 
mighty  works  were  done,  because  they  repented  not :  " 

"  Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin  !  Woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida  ! 
for  if  the  mighty  works,  which  were  done  in  you,  had  been 
done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago 
in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  But  I  say  unto  you.  It  shall  be 
more  tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  at  the  day  of  judgment, 
than  for  you.  And  thou,  Capernaum,  which  art  exalted 
unto  heaven,  shalt  be  brought  down  to  hell  :  for  if  the 
mighty  works,  which  have  been  done  in  thee,  had  been 
done  in  Sodom,  it  would  have  remained  until  this  day. 
But  I  say  unto  you.  That  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the 
land  of  Sodom  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  thee." 

At  that  time  Jesus  answered  and  said, 

"  I  thank  thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
because  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent, and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes.  Even  so,  Fa- 
ther :  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight. 

"  All  things  are  delivered  unto  me  of  my  Father :  and  no 
man  knoweth  the  Son,  but  the  Father;  neither  knoweth 
any  man  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever 
the  Son  will  reveal  him. 

"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and 
learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart :  and  ye 
shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.  For  my  yoke  is  easy,  and 
my  burden  is  light."  ^ 

And  one  of  the  Pharisees  desired  him  that  he  would  eat 
with  him.  And  he  went  into  the  Pharisee's  house,  and  sat 
down  to  meat.  And,  behold,  a  woman  in  the  city,  which 
was  a  smner,  when  she  knew  that  Jesus  sat  at  meat  in  the 
Pharisee's  house,  brought  an  alabaster  box  of  ointment,  and 
stood  at  his  feet  behind  him  weeping,  and  began  to  wash  his 
feet  with  tears,  and  did  wipe  them  with  the  hairs  of  her  head, 
and  kissed  his  feet,  and  anointed  them  with  the  ointment.^ 


494  THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 

LukeTii^-50.  Now  when  the  Pharisee  which  had  bidden  him  saw  it,  he 
spake  within  himself,  saying, 

"  This  man,  if  he  were  a  prophet,  would  have  known 
who  and  what  manner  of  woman  this  is  that  toucheth  him  : 
for  she  is  a  sinner." 

And  Jesus  answering  said  unto  him, 

"  Simon,  I  have  somewhat  to  say  unto  thee." 

And  he  saith, 

"  Master,  say  on." 

*'  There  was  a  certain  creditor  which  had  two  debtors  : 
the  one  owed  five  hundred  pence,  and  the  other  fifty.  And 
when  they  had  nothing  to  pay,  he  frankly  forgave  them 
both.  Tell  me  therefore,  which  of  them  will  love  him 
most  ? " 

Simon  answered  and  said, 

"  I  suppose  that  he,  to  whom  he  forgave  most." 

And  he  said  unto  him, 

"  Thou  hast  rightly  judged." 

And  he  turned  to  the  woman,  and  said  unto  Simon, 

"  Seest  thou  this  woman  1  I  entered  into  thine  house, 
thou  gavest  me  no  water  for  my  feet  :  but  she  hath  washed 
my  feet  with  tears,  and  wiped  them  with  the  hairs  of  her 
head.  Thou  gavest  me  no  kiss  :  but  this  woman  since  the 
time  I  came  in  hath  not  ceased  to  kiss  my  feet.  My  head 
with  oil  thou  didst  not  anoint :  but  this  woman  hath  anoint- 
ed my  feet  with  ointment.  Wherefore  I  say  unto  thee, 
Her  sins,  which  are  many,  are  forgiven;  for  she  loved 
much :  but  to  whom  little  is  forgiven,  the  same  loveth 
little." 

And  he  said  unto  her, 

"  Thy  sins  are  forgiven." 

And  they  that  sat  at  meat  with  him  began  to  say  within 
themselves, 

"  Who  is  this  that  forgiveth  sins  also  ? " 

And  he  said  to  the  woman, 

"  Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee  ;  go  in  peace." ' 


ANOTHER  CIRCUIT  THROUGH  GALILEE.  495 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Another  Circtdt  through  Galilee.  —  Denunciation  of  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  on  the  Occasion  of  a  Devil  being  cast 
out,  and  of  a  Dinner  at  a  Pharisee^s  House. 

AND   it  came   to  pass   afterward,  that ^  Jesus®"  went  Matt. xii. 22-26. 
.  ,       .'  ,  .  ^    Mark  iii.  19-26. 

throughout  every  city  and  village,  preaching   and  Luke  vm.  1-3. 

shewing  the  glad  tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God  :  and  the     17, 18.    '     ' 

twelve   were   with  him,   and  certain   women,    which   had  a  he  3 

been  healed  of  evil   spirits  and   infirmities,    Mary   called 

Magdalene,  out  of  whom  went  seven  devils,  and  Joanna  the 

wife  of  Chuza   Herod's  steward,  and  Susanna,  and  many 

others,  which  ministered  unto  him  of  their  substance." 

And  they  went  into  ^  a  ^  ^  house.     And  the  multitude  ^  an.  a 
Cometh  together  again,  so  that  they  could  not  so  much  as 
eat  bread.     And  when  his  friends  heard  of  it,  they  went 
out  to  lay  hold  on  him  :  for  they  said, 

"  He  is  beside  himself."  ^ 

Then  was  brought  unto  him  one  possessed  with  a  devil,^ 
and  it  was  ^  blind  and  dumb  :  and  he  healed  him,"  inso-  "  a^evlf  3^^  °^* 
much  that  ^  "^  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  devil  was  gone  out,^  ''■  ^'^'^-  * 
that  ®  the  blind  and  dumb  both  spake  and  saw.     And  all 
the  people  ^  wondered,"  and  ®  were  amazed,  and  said, 

"  Is  not  this  the  Son  of  David  ?" 

But  when  the  Pharisees,^  and  the  scribes  which  came 
down  from  Jerusalem  ^  heard  it,^  some  of  them  *  said,  *  they.i 

"This  fellow^/ hath  Beelzebub,  and^  doth  not  cast  out  -^He.ss 
devils,  but  by  Beelzebub,  the  prince  s"  of  the  devils,^  "  '^^^^-  ^ 
through  "  whom  ®  he  casteth  "  them  ®  out."  "  *  '^  he  out  devils,  a 

But"*  Jesus,^/  knowing*^  their  thoughts,"  called  them  'And.ia 
unto  him,  and  said  unto  them  m  parables, 

"  How  can  Satan  cast  out  Satan  %  ^     Every  kingdom '  di-  '  7<fJ  tl'^a"^' 
vided  against  itself  is  brought  to  desolation  :  ^  that  kingdom 
cannot  stand.     And  ^  every  city  or  house  "• "  divided  against  '"be.'^a'^  *  ^°"°® 
itself  1 "  cannot  2  °  stand  ^  but  ^  falleth."     And  if  Satan  cast  "  ''}'T\\ 

o  shall  not.  i 

out  Satan,  he  is  divided  against  himself  j  how  shall  then    that  house  can- 
his  kingdom  stand  1^    If  he  rise  up  against  himself,  and  be  * 


496 


THE   GOSPELS  CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  xii.  27-38. 
Mark  iii.  26-30. 
Lukexi.  16,  18- 
26,  29. 


a  sons. 3 

6  with  the  finger  .3 

c  upon. 8 

dor  else  how  can.l 
c  a  strong 

man's,  i  a 
/he  wiU.3 


g  diyideth.  3 


h  sins,  a 

t  the  sons  of 

men. " 
k  blasphemy.  1 
I  the  blasphemy .1 
VI  shall  not  be 

forgiven  unto 

men.  1 


n  then. 1 

o  and  others.  3 

P  Bought  of  him 
a  siga.  8 


also®  divided  he  caunot  stand,  but  hath  an  end.'^  Be- 
cause ye  say  that  I  cast  out  devils  through  Beelzebub.^ 
And  if  1  by  Beelzebub  cast  out  devils,  by  whom  do  your 
children"  cast  them  out?  therefore  they  shall  be  your 
judges.  But  if  I  cast  out  devils  by  the  Spirit  *  of  God, 
then,^  no  doubt,^  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  unto "  you.^ 

"  When  a  strong  man  armed  keepeth  his  palace,  his 
goods  are  in  peace,®  no  man  can*^  enter  into  his"  house, 
and  spoil  ^  them,^  except  he/  first  bind  the  strong  man  :^ 
ut  when  a  stronger  than  he  shall  come  upon  him 
and  overcome  him,  he  taketh  from  him  all  his  armor 
wherein  he  trusted  ;  ®  and  then  he  will  spoil  his  house,^  and® 
divide  ^  s  his  spoils.® 

"  He  that  is  not  with  me  is  against  me  ;  and  he  that 
gathereth  not  with  me  scattereth  abroad.  Wherefore  ^  ver- 
ily ®  I  say  unto  you,  All  manner  of  sin  ^  ^  shall  be  forgiven 
unto  men,^  *  and  blasphemies  ^  wherewith  soever  they  shall 
blaspheme  :  but  he  that  shall  blaspheme  ^  against  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  never  forgiveness,*"  but  is  in  danger  of  eternal 
damnation.*  And  whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the 
Son  of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him  :  but  whosoever  speak- 
eth against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him, 
neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the  world  to  come."  ^  (Be- 
cause they  said,  "He  hath  an  unclean  spirit."*)  "Either 
make  the  tree  good,  and  his  fruit  good  ;  or  else  make  the 
tree  con'upt,  and  his  fruit  corrupt  :  for  the  tree  is  known 
by  his  fruit.  0  generation  of  vipei's,  how  can  ye,  being 
evil,  speak  good  things  1  for  out  of  the  abundance  of  the 
heart  the  mouth  speaketh.  A  good  man  out  of  the  good 
treasure  of  the  heart  bringeth  forth  good  things  :  and  an 
evil  man  out  of  the  evil  treasure  bringeth  forth  evil  things. 
But  I  say  unto  you,  That  every  idle  word  that  men  shall 
speak,  they  shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment. For  by  thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justified,  and  by 
thy  words  thou  shalt  be  condemned."  ^ 

And  when  the  people  were  gathered  thick  together,®" 
certain  of  the  scribes  and  of  the  Pharisees,^"  tempting 
him,®  answered,  saying,  P 

"  Master,  we  would  see  ^  from  thee  ^  a  sign  from 
heaven."  ® 


THE  SIGN  OF  JONAH.  497 

But  he  answered  and  said  "  unto  them,^  Ma",  xii.  89-45. 

'  Luke  XI.  24-27, 

"This  is   an   evil^    and   adulterous   generation:^   they     29-36. 
seek^*  after  a  sign;  and  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  to  it,  "began  to  say.* 
but  the  sign  of  the  prophet  ^  Jonah. ^  "^     For  as  ^  Jonah  ^'^  cjonas.  i» 
was  a  sign  unto  the  Ninevites,  so  shall  also  the  Son  of  man 
be  to  this  generation.^     For  as  ^  Jonah  ^ "  was  three  days 
and  three  nights  in  the  whale's  belly  :  so  shall  the  Son  of 
man  be  three  days  and  thi'ee  nights  in  the  heart  of  the 
earth.     The  men  of  Nineveh  ^"^  shall  rise  up  in  the  judg-  dNineve.s 
ment  with  this  generation  and  shall  condemn  it  :  for*  they  e  because,  i 
repented  at  the  preaching  of  ^  Jonah ;  ^  '^  and,  behold,  a 
greater  than^  Jonah  ^°  is  here.     The  queen  of  the  south 
shall  rise  up  in  the  judgment  with  the  men  of  this  genera- 
tion, and  condemn  them  :/  for  she  came  from  the  utter-/ it. i 
most  ^  parts  of  the  earth  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  ;  c  utmost,  s 
and,  behold,  a  greater  than  Solomon  is  here.^ 

"  No  man,  when  he  hath  lighted  a  candle,  putteth  it  in  a 
secret  place,  neither  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick, 
that  they  which  come  in  may  see  the  light.  The  light  of 
the  body  is  the  eye  :  therefore  when  thine  eye  is  single, 
thy  whole  body  also  is  full  of  light ;  but  when  thine  eye  is 
evil,  thy  body  also  is  full  of  darkness.  Take  heed  there- 
fore that  the  light  which  is  in  thee  be  not  darkness.  If 
thy  whole  body  therefore  be  full  of  light,  having  no  part 
dark,  the  whole  shall  be  full  of  light,  as  when  the  bright 
shining  of  a  candle  doth  give  thee  light.^ 

"When  the  imclean  spirit  is  gone  out  of  a   man,  he 
walketh   through  dry  places,   seeking  rest;  and   finding*  ftfindeth.i 
none,^  then  ^  he  saith,  '  I  will  return  unto '  my  house  ^  from  ^  »"  into,  i 
whence  I  came  out.'     And  when  he  cometh,^  he  findeth  it^  t  is  come,  i 
empty,^  swept  and  garnished.     Then  goeth  hc,^  and  taketh 
with  himself^  seven  other  spirits  more  wicked  than  him-  Jtohlm. s 
self,  and  they  enter  in  and  dwell  there  :  and  the  last  state 
of  that  man  is  worse  than  the  first.     Even  so  shall  it  be 
also  unto  this  wicked  generation."  ^ 

And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  spake  these  things,  a  certain 
woman  of  the  company  lifted  up  her  voice,  and  said  unto  him, 

"  Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bare  thee,  and  the  paps 
which  thou  hast  sucked  ! " 

But  he  said,^ 

32 


498 


THE   GOSPELS   CONSOLIDATED. 


Matt.  xii.  46  -  50. 
Mark  iii.  31-35. 
Luke  viii.  19-21. 

—   xi.  28,  37- 

44. 

a  then. a  3 


c  and  they.  * 
and  it  was  told 
him  by  certain 
which,  s 


d  And.  2  3 
e  them.  2  3 


/or.« 


g  he  stretched,  i 


"  Yea,  rather,  blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word  of 
God,  and  keep  it."  ^ 

While  he  yet  talked  to  the  people,^ "  and  the  multitude 
sat  about  him,^  behold,  there  came  ^  to  him  his  mother  and 
his  brethren,  and  could  not  come  at  him  for  the  press,^  and 
standing  *  without,^  desiring  to  speak  with  him,^  sent  unto 
him,  calling  him.^ 

Then  one  '^  said  unto  him, 

"  Behold,  thy  mother  and  thy  brethren  stand  without,^ 
and  '^  seek  for  thee,^  desiring  to  ^  see  ^  and  ^  to  speak  with 
thee." 

But  ^  he  answered  and  said  unto  him  *  that  told  him,^ 
saying,2 

"  Who  is  my  mother  ?  and  who  are-/"  my  brethren  ] "  ^ 

And  he  looked  round  about  on  them  which  sat  about 
him,  and  ^  stretched  ^  forth  his  hand  toward  his  disciples, 
and  said, 

"  Behold  my  mother  and  my  brethren  !  '^  They  ^  are 
these  which  hear  the  word  of  God,  and  do  it.^  For  whoso- 
ever shall  do  the  will  of^  God^  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and^  my^  sister,  and 
mother."  ^ 

And  as  he  spake,  a  certain  Pharisee  besought  him  to  dine 
with  him  :  and  he  went  in,  and  sat  down  to  meat.  And 
when  the  Pharisee  saw  it,  he  marvelled  that  he  had  not 
first  washed  before  dinner. 

And  the  Lord  said  unto  him, 

"  Now  do  ye  Pharisees  make  clean  the  outside  of  the 
cup  and  the  platter ;  but  your  inward  part  is  full  of  raven- 
ing and  wickedness.  Ye  fools,  did  not  he  that  made  that 
which  is  without  make  that  which  is  within  also?  But 
rather  give  alms  of  such  things  as  ye  have ;  and,  behold, 
all  things  are  clean  unto  you. 

"But  woe  unto  you,  Pharisees  !  for  ye  tithe  mint  and  rue 
and  all  manner  of  herbs,  and  pass  over  judgment  and  the 
love  of  God  :  these  ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  to  leave 
the  other  undone. 

"  Woe  unto  you,  Pharisees  !  for  ye  love  the  uppermost 
seats  in  the  synagogues,  and  gi-ectings  in  the  markets. 

"  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for  ^ 


HYPOCRISY.  499 

ye  are  as  graves  which  appear  not,  and  the  men  that  walk  I'Pkeri.  45-54. 
over  them  are  not  aware  of  them." 

Then  answered  one  of  the  lawyers,  and  said  unto  him, 

"  Master,  thus  saying  thou  reproachest  us  also." 

And  he  said, 

"  Woe  unto  you  also,  ye  lawyers  !  for  ye  lade  men  with 
bvu-dens  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  ye  yourselves  touch  not 
the  burdens  with  one  of  yoiu-  fingers. 

"  Woe  unto  you  !  for  ye  build  the  sepulchres  of  the 
prophets,  and  your  fathers  killed  them.  Truly  ye  bear 
witness  that  ye  allow  the  deeds  of  your  fathers  :  for  they 
indeed  killed  them,  and  ye  build  their  sepulchres.  Therefore 
also  said  the  wisdom  of  God,  '  I  will  send  them  prophets  and 
apostles,  and  some  of  them  they  shall  slay  and  persecute ' : 
that  the  blood  of  all  the  prophets,  which  was  shed  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  may  be  required  of  this  genera- 
tion;  from  the  blood  of  Abel  unto  the  son  of^  Zachariah,  ^"  aZacharias.a 
which  perished  between  the  altar  and  the  temple  :  verily  I 
say  imto  you,  It  shall  be  required  of  this  generation. 

"  Woe  unto  you,  lawyers  !  for  ye  have  taken  away  the 
key  of  knowledge  :  ye  entered  not  in  yourselves,  and  them 
that  were  entering  in  ye  hindered." 

And  as  he  said  these  things  unto  them,  the  scribes  and 
the  Pharisees  began  to  urge  him  vehemently,  and  to  pro- 
voke him  to  speak  of  many  things  :  laying  wait  for  him, 
and  seeking  to  catch  something  out  of  his  mouth  that  they 
might  accuse  him.^ 


ANALYTICAL   INDEX. 


Adultery,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  337. 

Almsgiving,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
342. 

Angelic  Ministrations,  the  faith  of  a  de- 
vout Jew,  19  ;  a,  striking  feature  of  the 
period,  39 ;  faith  of  the  church  and 
people,  40 ;  relation  to  monotheism 
among  the  Greeks,  42. 

Anna,  the  prophetess,  35. 

Annunciation,  the,  11. 

Apostles,  the,  as  distinguished  from  dis- 
ciples, 299. 

Aechelaus,  the  successor  of  Herod,  39. 

Baptism,  John's  formula,  and  the  mean- 
ing of  the  act,  99 ;  Christ's  baptism, 
and  the  Jewish  law,  110;  learned  wri- 
ters on  the  subject,  111 ;  Christ's  own 
interpretation  of  the  rite,  112;  its 
symbolic  meaning  and  formula,  223 ; 
the  disciples'  dispute  about  purifying, 
224 ;  the  dispute  not  yet  ended,  225. 

Beatitudes.     See  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

Beatitudes,  the  Mount  of  the,  306. 

Beelzebub,  critical  examination  of  the 
name,  388. 

"Beg,"  the  strained  use  of  the  word,  375. 

Benevolence,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
341. 

Bethesda,  the  Pool  of,  205. 

Bethlehem,  to-day,  and  in  the  time  of 
Christ,  31. 

Bethsaida,  the  judgment  of  Christ  upon, 
379. 

"Born  again,"  physical  and  moral  re- 
birth, 218. 

Cana.    See  Wedding. 


Capernaum,  197 ;  the  last  traces  of,  199  ; 
a  year  of  beneficence  in,  281  ;  the 
judgment  upon,  by  Jesus,  379 ;  its 
scenery,  417. 

Carpenter,  the  trade  of,  now  and  In 
Christ's  time  in  Palestine,  67. 

Caves  in  Palestine  and  tiicir  use,  29. 

Centurion  of  Capernaum,  the,  364. 

Character  of  Jesus,  140  ;  tenderness 
in  personal  intercourse,  148 ;  not  re- 
garded as  a  common  man,  150  ;  power 
of  his  look,  151 ;  power  as  a  speaker, 
153;  impressive  manner,  154;  popu- 
lar conceptions,  155;  assumptions  of 
sovereign  authority,  276. 

Childhood  of  Jesus,  points  for  special 
attention,  75 ;  brothers  and  sisters,  75 ; 
Matthew  declares  he  would  be  called 
a  Nazarene,  77. 

Chorazin,  the  judgment  of  Christ  upon, 
379. 

Christian  Art,  deification  of  the  Virgin, 
16;  tributes  to  Mary  as  the  type  of 
motherhood,  33. 

Christian  Church,  its  gradual  unfolding 
and  interpretation  of  spiritual  Gospel 
truths,  7. 

Church  Organization  was  not  the  aim  of 
Christ,  178. 

Chusa,  the  wife  of  Herod's  steward,  383, 
402. 

"  Come  unto  vie,  all  ye  that  labor,"  381. 

CoNANT,  Professor  T.  J.,  on  the  word 
"  beg,"  375 ;  on  the  name  Beelzebub, 
388. 

Covetousness,  a  warning,  406. 


502 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


Critics  of  the  Gospels,  8. 

David,  King,  the  consecrated  bread, 
274. 

Design  of  Christ's  teaching,  the  direct 
influence  of  the  Divine  nature  upon 
the  human  heart,  156. 

Disciples,  tlie  permanent  formation  of  the 
disciple  family,  297 ;  Simon,  James, 
and  John,  298 ;  Matthew,  otherwise 
Levi,  298 ;  occupations  and  social 
position,  293  ;  character  and  personal 
relations  with  Jesus,  299 ;  errors  and 
failings,  299 ;  why  chosen,  299 ;  as 
distinguished  from  apostles,  299. 

Discourses  of  Jesus,  illustrations  from 
nature,  64 ;  reasons  for  simplicity,  66  ; 
influence  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  69  ; 
to  Nicodemus,  218;  to  the  woman  of 
Samaria,  239 ;  before  the  Sanhedrim, 
269. 

Divine  Influences  upon  mental  transfor- 
mations, 106. 

Divinity,  the  claims  of  Jesus  to,  293. 

Divorce,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  337. 

Dixon,  W.  H.,  view  of  Nazareth,  262. 

Doctors,  the,  in  the  Temple,  73. 

Dolling ER,  Dr.,  on  the  Pharisees,  163. 

Education  of  Jesus,  296. 

Education  among  the  Jews,  295 ;  courses 
of  study,  296 ;  teaching  of  trades  at 
schools,  296 ;  the  rabbis,  even,  were 
taught  such,  296  ;  why  the  disciples 
were  named  after  trades  taught  at 
school,  296. 

Elias  the  prophet,  92;  dramatic  inci- 
dents of  his  career,  93. 

Elizabeth.     See  Zaciiarias. 

Ellicott's  "Lectures,"  on  the  duration 
of  Christ's  ministry,  264. 

Essenes,  organization,  observances,  and 
faith  of,  169. 

Fasting,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  350. 

Feasts,  the  three  annual  at  Jerusalem, 
200;  the  Passover,  201;  of  Purim, 
264.     See  also  Jerusalem. 

Forgiveness  of  Sin,  the  repentant  Mag- 
dalene, 371  ;  Christ's  enunciation  of 
power  to  forgive  sin,  293. 


Future  Life,  Christ's  familiarity  with, 
410 ;  its  influence  upon  his  teachings, 
410. 

Galilee,  local  influences  upon  Christ's 
life,  58;  scenery,  60,  416;  historical 
associations,  62  ;  animal  and  vegetable 
life,  62 ;  admixture  of  pagan  popula- 
tion, 161 ;  the  centre  of  Christ's  pub- 
lic life,  416;  Macgregor's  description, 
417. 

Galileans,  reply  of  Jesus  on  news  of 
their  slaughter,  413. 

Crates  of  Oriental  cities  the  evening  re- 
sort, 284. 

Genesareth,  the  plain  of,  416;  Christ's 
solitary  walks,  418;  propagation  of 
sound  in  that  region,  420;  its  desola- 
tion in  later  times,  419. 

Gospels,  the  four,  the  only  material  for 
a  life  of  Christ,  2  ;  their  value  as  tes- 
timony, 2  ;  authority  and  motives  for 
writing  them,  3 ;  what  they  are,  their 
moral  rather  than  chronological  simi- 
larity, 4 ;  compared  to  Xenophon's 
Memorabilia  of  Socrates,  5  ;  their  ref- 
erence to  the  mental  altitude  and  cus- 
toms of  their  time,  6 ;  Jews  their 
authors,  6 ;  necessity  readapting  with, 
7  ;  the  life  of  Christ  should  be  re-writ- 
ten for  every  age,  7 ;  their  deeper 
meaning  to  us  than  to  the  primitive 
disciple,  8;  the  two  classes  of  Gospel 
critics,  8 ;  to  which  class  the  present 
writer  belongs,  9  ;  providential  design 
of  the  Gospels,  1 1 ;  their  structure, 
145  ;  arc  collective  reminiscences  of 
Christ,  145 ;  the  mythical  theory  in 
regard  to  them,  425. 

Government  a  constitutional  necessity  in 
man,  178;  physical  and  moral,  con- 
sidered, 409. 

Grain-fields  of  Galilee,  421. 

Greek  and  Hebrew  minds  contrasted, 
303. 

Ilaltin,  the  scene  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  305. 

Heathen,  the  word  as  a  designation,  332. 

Uebrews,    original    tribal  organization. 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


503 


82;  the  priests  the  ruling  class,  83; 
the  jiroplietic  nature,  83. 

Hebrew  Women,  education  and  associa- 
tions, 17;  participation  in  public  af- 
fairs, 35. 

Hebrew  and  Greek  minds  contrasted, 
303. 

Hekod,  his  alarm  on  hearing  of  Jesus, 
36  ;  consults  the  Magi  and  sends  them 
to  seek  Jesus,  36  ;  they  see  Jesus  and 
depart  to  their  homes,  37  ;  Herod's 
greater  alarm,  —  the  massacre  of  chil- 
dren ordered,  38  ,  the  historical  truth 
of  the  statement,  38 ;  the  death  of 
Herod,  39 ;  succeeded  by  Archelaus, 
39 ;  his  suspicious  and  cruel  character, 
401  ;  Jesus  had  friends  among  his 
household,  402 ;  the  wife  of  Herod's 
steward,  383,  402. 

Hol^  Ghost,  the  descent  of,  upon  Jesus, 
105. 

Humanitarianism.    See  Nature  of  Jesus. 

Immortaliti/  always  assumed  in  Christ's 
teachings,  410. 

Incarnation.     See  Nature  of  .Jesus. 

Inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  its  theory, 
79 ;  how  the  claim  should  be  under- 
stood, 80. 

Israel.     See  Ilebreivs. 

Jacob's  Well,  the  discourse  of  Jesus  to 
the  woman  of  Samaria,  —  locality  of 
the  well,  236;  its  authenticity,  237; 
he  asks  for  water,  239 ;  the  woman's 
implied  taunts,  240;  the  "living  wa- 
ter," 240 ;  the  return  of  the  disciples 
interrupts  the  conversation,  245  ;  its 
effect  upon  the  woman's  mind,  246 ; 
she  informs  her  town's-people,  247  ; 
he  remains  with  tlicm  two  days,  247  ; 
Jesus  thus  set  himself  against  the  ex- 
clusiveness  of  the  Jewish  Ciiurch,  247  ; 
his  treatment  of  a  sinning  woman, 
249;  the  incident  a  fit  prelude  to  his 
opening  public  life,  249  ;  objections  to 
the  narrative,  250 ;  his  reply  to  the 
disciples  who  reproached  him,  250. 

Jerusalem,  love  of  the  Jews  for  it,  12; 
the  annual  festival,  70 ;  the  roads,  70 ; 


sacred  songs  of  the  travellers,  71  ;  the 
unconstrained  character  of  the  festival, 
72 ;  the  approach  to  the  city,  201 ; 
Jerusalem  to  Galilee,  229. 
Jesus,  the  Christ,  birth  of  Jesus,  29; 
laid  in  a  manger,  29;  opinions  and 
customs  assign  various  dates  to  the 
nativity,  31;  the  voice  from  the  heav- 
ens and  the  coming  of  the  shepherds, 
32  ;  circumcision,  and  presentation  ia 
the  Temple,  34 ;  Simeon  and  Anna, 
35;  the  excitement  at  Jerusalem,  35; 
Herod  consults  the  Magi,  36 ;  the  guid- 
ing star,  36  ;  their  worship  and  gifts, 
37 ;  the  flight  into  Egypt  and  return 
to  Nazareth,  39 ;  the  nature  of  Jesus 
(see  Nature  of  Jesus) ;  childhood  and 
residence  at  Nazaretli,  54  ;  his  visit  to 
Jerusalem  at  twelve  years  of  age,  the 
last  glimpse  of  him  for  sixteen  or 
eighteen  years,  56  ;  his  probable  youth- 
'ful  experiences  and  character,  56; 
his  brothers  and  sisters,  75  ;  the 
local  influences  of  Galilee, —  the  bad 
reputation  of  Nazareth,  its  beautiful 
scenery,  60  ;  historical  associations  of 
Galilee,  62 ;  influence  of  tlie  region 
upon  his  genius  considered,  63-66; 
his  education  was  little  beyond  his 
father's  trade  of  carpenter,  66  ;  what 
the  term  included,  67  ;  his  knowledge 
of  the  Old  Testament  gained  in  the 
synagogue,  69 ;  the  influence  of  that 
knowledge  upon  his  mind,  69 ;  his 
first  visit  to  Jerusalem,  70 ;  the  festi- 
val over,  his  parents  return,  —  he  is 
missed  after  a  day's  journey,  72  ;  they 
find  him  after  three  days  among  the 
doctors  in  the  Temple,  73 ;  John,  the 
forerunner  of  Jesus  (see  John);  is 
baptized  by  John,  104 ;  the  sign  of  the 
dove  descending,  —  a  voice  from  heav- 
en, 105  ;  Jesus  from  that  moment  be- 
came the  Christ,  106;  he  begins  the 
new  dispensation,  107  ;  the  temptation 
in  the  wilderness  (see  Temptation) ;  the 
personal  appearance  of  Jesus  (see  Per- 
sonal Appearance) ;  the  design  of  his 


504 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


teachings,  1 56  ;  social  and  religious  con- 
dition of  Palestine,  160  (see  also  J^eu's, 
Pharisees,  Sadducees,  Essenes,  &c.)  ; 
the  expectations  of  a  Messiah,  and  his 
real  design,  172  ;  its  progressive  devel- 
opment, 174 ;  he  did  not  aim  to  organ- 
ize a  church,  178;  retained  full  com- 
munion with  the  Jewish  Church,  178; 
his  return  home  after  tlic  temptation, 
181 ;  lie  clung  to  the  common  life  of 
the  people,  181 ;  he  was  the  "  Son  of 
Man,"  183;  he  went  to  Cana,  183; 
the  wedding  feast  (see  Wedding  ) ;  his 
life  for  the  next  two  years,  195;  visit 
to  Capernaum  and  subsequent  home 
there,  196;  his  miracles  and  life  at 
Capernaum,  197;  his  failure  to  win 
the  people  to  a  spiritual  life,  198  ;  Je- 
sus went  to  Jerusalem,  199;  the  first 
Judasan  niinistiy,  —  the  approach  to 
Jerusalem,  202;  the  Temple,  203;  the 
traffic  therein,  207 ;  Jesus  drove  out 
the  cattle  and  overthrew  the  tables, 
209 ;  is  questioned  by  the  officers  of 
the  Temple,  211 ;  the  meaning  of  his 
reply,  214;  the  coming  of  Nicodcmus 
by  night,  215  ;  importance  of  the  con- 
versation, 218;  omission  in  John's 
Gospel  record  of  this  period,  221  ;  con- 
jectures upon  the  subject,  221  ;  only 
mention  is  that  Christ  baptized  in  Ju- 
da;a,  223 ;  he  early  ceased  to  perform 
it,  224;  the  dispute  among  the  dis- 
ciples "  about  purifying,"  224  ;  the 
danger  of  division  between  Christ's 
and  John's  disciples,  226  ;  Christ's  re- 
turn to  Galilee,  228;  Samaria,  236; 
Jesus  at  Jacob's  well  (see  Jacob's 
Well)  ;  went  into  Galilee,  253 ;  heals 
the  nobleman's  son  at  Capernaum, 
254;  Jesus  came  to  Nazareth,  256; 
invited  to  read  in  the  synagogue, — 
announces  the  fulfilment  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, 257  -  260  ;  rage  of  the  congrega- 
tion, who  take  him  out  to  kill  him,  260 ; 
his  escnpe,  261  ;  probable  scene  of  the 
attem])t,  262 ;  Capernaum  thenceforth 
the  home  of  Jesus,  264 ;  he  again  visits 


Jerusalem,  264 ;  healing  the  man  at 
the  pool  of  Bcthesda,  266 ;  the  sick 
man  unlawfully  carries  his  bed  upon 
the  Sabbath,  266 ;  anger  of  the  Jews 
thereat,  267 ;  Jesus  is  summoned  be- 
fore the  Sanhedrim,  269 ;  his  discourse 
in  reply  to  accusations,  269 ;  he  claims 
Divine  authority,  270;  now  first  calls 
himself  the  Son  of  God,  271  ;  wonder 
and  rage  of  the  court  at  his  defiance 
of  their  authority,  271  ;  it  was  his  first 
collision  with  the  Temple  party,  273; 
the  policy  of  the  Temple  thenceforth 
hostile,  273 ;  Jesus  was  watched  by 
spies,  273 ;  the  plucking  of  grain  by 
the  disciples  a  new  accusation,  273 ; 
his  replies,  275 ;  his  sovereignty  of 
spirit  in  these  contests,  276 ;  licals  the 
paralytic  man  in  the  synagogue,  276; 
again  accused,  —  his  replies,  276  ;  the 
conflict  of  his  love  with  inhumanity, 
278;  he  went  to  Capernaum,  280;  an 
unobstructed  year  of  beneficence,  280 ; 
the  popular  wonder  and  admiration, 
281  ;  his  preaching  in  the  synagogues, 
282 ;  heals  a  man  with  an  unclean 
devil,  283 ;  withdraws  to  Peter's  house, 
284  ;  heals  the  mother-in-law  of  Peter, 
284;  healing  at  the  city  gates,  284; 
the  Pharisees  silent  for  a  time,  286 ; 
Jesus  now  made  his  first  circuit 
through  Galilee,  288 ;  suggestions  of 
routes  taken,  288;  the  excitement 
everywhere  caused,  288 ;  Herod's  prob- 
able impressions,  289 ;  the  healing  of 
a  leper,  289 ;  respect  of  Jesus  for 
original  Mosaic  rites,  290 ;  the  para- 
lytic man  lowered  through  a  house 
roof,  293;  Jesus  forgives  his  sins, — 
the  excitement  of  Pharisees  present, 
293  ;  he  declares  his  power  to  forgive, 
293  ;  it  was  a  claim  of  divinity,  294; 
his  use  of  parables,  296 ;  the  perma- 
nent formation  of  his  disciple  family 
near  Capernaum,  297  ;  the  miraculous 
draught  of  fishes,  297 ;  calls  Simon, 
James,  and  John  to  follow  him,  298  ; 
the  call  of  Matthew,  otherwise  Levi, 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


505 


298  {see  Disciples) ;  character  of  Jesus'a 
teaching  at  this  period,  301 ;  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount  (see  Sermon)  ; 
his  return  to  Capernaum,  364 ;  heal- 
ing of  the  centurion's  servant,  364 ; 
the  widow's  son  restored  to  life,  367  ; 
the  effect  of  this  miracle,  368 ;  at  the 
house  of  Simon  the  Pliarisee,  369 ; 
the  repentant  Magdalene,  369 ;  the 
message  of  John  in  prison,  372 ;  his 
warnings  to  Bethsaida,  Cliorazin,  and 
Capernaum,  377;  absence  of  sympa- 
thy from  his  family  connections,  382 ; 
his  companions  at  this  time,  382  ; 
charges  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
384 ;  his  replies,  384  ;  he  cliarges  them 
with  blasphemy,  386 ;  they  said  he 
was  aided  by  Beelzebub,  387  ;  efforts 
of  the  Temple  party  to  embroil  him 
with  his  countrymen,  389  ;  his  attitude 
in  face  of  this  danger,  390 ;  the  cry, 
"  Is  not  this  the  son  of  David  ?  "  first 
heard,  391 ;  the  parable  of  tlie  unclean 
spirit,  392  ;  blessing  of  his  mother  by 
a  woman  listener,  393 ;  his  mother 
and  bretliren  desire  to  speak  with  him, 
394 ;  declares  who  are  his  mother  and 
brethren,  394 ;  invited  to  dine  by  a 
Pharisee,  396 ;  is  questioned  about 
the  washing  of  hands,  396  ;  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  urge  him  to  speak  of 
many  things  to  accuse  him,  397 ;  he 
rebukes  their  inward  hypocrisy,  397 ; 
around  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  399 ;  eight 
parables,  400  ;  efforts  to  embroil  him 
with  the  people,  403 ;  they  were  un- 
consciously his  body  guard,  403 ;  the 
Pharisees  watched  for  heresy,  403 ; 
the  prudence  of  his  course,  404 ;  his 
discourse  to  his  disciples  before  a  mul- 
titude, as  recorded  by  Luke,  405  ;  a 
young  man  appeals  against  his  brother, 
—  is  warned  against  covetousness, 
406 ;  parables,  408  ;  is  told  of  the 
slaughter  of  the  Galileans,  412;  the 
labor  of  days  and  weeks  epitomized  in 
the  record  of  this  time,  415;  statement 
by  John  of  its  extent,  415  ;  manner  of 


his  life  at  this  time,  415  ;  his  solitary 
walks  about  Genesareth,  417;  his  ser- 
mon from  a  boat,  420  ;  his  method  of 
teaching  and  the  theory  of  myths, 
426  ;  some  parables  considered,  429 ; 
the  voice  ceased,  and  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  crowd  had  gone  out  like  the 
last  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  432. 

Jews,  their  moral  nature,  101 ;  inequality 
of  condition  and  precarious  existence, 
161;  political  subjection,  162;  their 
glory  in  the  law  as  God's  chosen  peo- 
ple, 162;  priesthood  dominated  by  the 
Romans,  163;  forms  of  religious  de- 
velopment, —  the  Pharisee,  the  Saddu- 
cee,  and  the  Essene,  163;  their  social 
habits  and  observances,  184. 

Jewish  CVatrc/i,  its  expected  deliverance,  1. 

Jewish  Nation,  tenderness  of  Jesus  to- 
ward the  good  of  its  past,  333. 

John,  the  forerunner  of  Jesus,  Zacha- 
rias  and  Elizabeth,  11-27;  his  char- 
acter in  childhood,  27;  the  prototype 
of  Elias  (Elijah)  the  prophet,  92;  in 
what  the  similarity  consisted,  93 ;  his 
brief  history,  92 ;  his  mission  as  the 
forerunner  of  Jesus,  95 ;  his  downright 
earnestness,  95 ;  his  preaching  was 
secular,  not  spiritual,  97  ;  his  meaning 
of  baptism,  99  ;  his  formula  and  mean- 
ing of  baptism,  99  ;  the  relation  of  his 
discourses  to  the  spiritual  truths  which 
Christ  unfolded,  100;  John  conceived 
no  new  ideal  of  morality,  100;  the 
effects  of  Ills  preaching,  101  ;  excite- 
ment in  Jerusalem,  102  ;  is  questioned 
by  messengers  fiom  the  Sanhedrim, 
103;  he  declares  to  them  the  coming 
of  Jesus,  103  ;  Jesus  comes  to  him  for 
baptism,  104;  the  sign  from  heaven, 
105;  the  mystery  surrounding  John, 
108;  his  ministry  after  Christ's  bap- 
tism, disputes  about  "purifying,"  224; 
John's  noble  character  exemplified, 
226;  jealousy  of  Herod  Antipas, — 
John  denounces  his  wickedness  and  is 
imprisoned,  —  the  demand  for  his  head 
by   the  daughter  of  Herodias,  —  his 


606 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


death,  and  burial  by  his  disciples,  109 ; 
his  burial-place,  like  that  of  Moses, 
unknown,  110;  analogies  in  the  his- 
tory of  Moses  and  John,  110;  his 
long  imprisonment  at  Machserus,  372 ; 
his  doubting  message  to  Jesus  and  the 
reply,  373 ;  conduct  of  the  people  to- 
ward him  and  Jesus,  376 ;  the  most 
perfect  lepresentation  of  his  Master's 
spirit,  301. 

Jordan,  the,  historical  associations,  out- 
shone by  the  baptism  of  Christ,  105. 

Joseph,  the  carpenter,  the  Virgin 
Mary's  espousal  to  him,  16;  he  was 
of  the  house  of  David,  20  ;  his  occupa- 
tion, 27  ;  few  remaining  details  of  his 
history,  27  ;  his  death  probably  before 
the  public  ministry  of  Ciirist,  27  ;  how 
he  is  represented  on  pictures  of  the 
Holy  Family,  28;  sacred  history  re- 
lates nothing  of  him,  68. 

Judiea  maintained  the  old  Jewish  stock, 
dislike  of  the  Samaritans,  160. 

Judcean  Hills,  the  road  along  the,  — 
scenery  and  memories,  229. 

Kinr/dom  of  Christ,  the,  not  of  this  world, 
4U2. 

KiTTo's  Dihlicnl  Cijdopccdia  on  Christ  in 
the  synagogue,  257. 

Lange,  on  the  word  "  Nazarene,"  78. 

Law  and  the  Prophets,  Jesus  came  not  to 
destroy,  331  ;  Christ's  spiritual  ethics 
contested  their  popular  interpretation, 
33.5. 

Laws,  their  true  relation  of  servants  not 
masters,  279. 

Lentulus,  fictitious  letter  on  appear- 
ance of  Christ,  140. 

Leprosy,  a  description  of,  290. 

Levites,  the,  83,  87. 

Lives  of  Christ  and  Harmonies,  5  ;  necessi- 
ty for  new  adaptations  for  every  age,  7. 

Lord's  Prayer,  the,  342. 

Luke,  his  motive  for  writing  his  Gos- 
pel, 4  ;  why  called  the  evangelist  of 
Greece,  42. 

Macgregob,  on  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  417, 
420. 


Magdalene,  Mart,  one  of  Christ's  at- 
tendants, 382. 

Magi,  the,  mission  to  find  Jesus,  36  ;  the 
guiding  star  in  the  east,  36 ;  they 
worshipped  him  and  presented  gifts, 
37  ;  return  to  their  homes,  37. 

Manger,  what  it  probably  was,  29. 

Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  the  little 
known  of  her,  —  the  light  of  imagina- 
tion thrown  around  her  name,  15  ; 
the  reason  why  she  is  reverenced  and 
worshipped,  15;  a  mother's  love  and 
forbearance  the  nearest  image  of  divine 
tenderness  which  the  soul  can  form, 
15;  the  deification  of  the  Virgin  by 
art,  16  ;  the  residence,  lineage,  and  es- 
pousal of  Mary,  16;  the  liabits  and 
associations  of  her  life,  17  ;  her  famili- 
arity with  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  — 
slie  was  imbued  with  their  spirit,  18; 
reality  to  her  of  the  angelic  manifesta- 
tion, 1 8  ;  her  ideas  of  the  promised 
deliverance  of  Israel,  20 ;  she  went 
into  the  city  of  Juda,  to  the  house  of 
Zacharias,  21 ,  her  revelations  to  Eliza- 
beth, 23  ;  the  exalted  expectations  of 
both  women,  23 ;  the  song  of  Mary, 
23 ;  its  similarity  with  the  song  of 
Hannah,  24 ;  Mary's  return  to  Naza- 
reth, 25  ;  the  journey  to  Betiilehcm, 
29  ;  the  birth  of  Jesus,  29  ;  a  cottage 
probably  the  place,  29  ;  the  manger 
was  in  a  cave  excavated  from  the  cot- 
tage, 29  ;  tiie  coming  of  the  shepherds, 
32 ;  purification  and  thank-offering, 
34 ;  the  prophecy  of  Simeon  and  of 
Anna,  34  ;  the  visit  of  the  Magi,  36; 
flight  into  Egypt,  and  return  to  Naza- 
reth, 39  ;  the  most  intimate  commun- 
ion of  Jesus  was  witii  his  motiicr,  68  ; 
other  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary, 
76 ;  blessed  by  a  woman  among 
Christ's  listeners,  393  ;  Mary's  anxiety 
for  her  son,  393  ;  she  with  his  breth- 
ren desire  to  speak  with  him,  394 ; 
"  Who  is  my  motlier?  "  394  ;  it  was  a 
rebuke  to  tjiem,  395. 

Massacre  of  the  Innocents,  38. 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


507 


Materials  for  a  Life  of  Jesus,  the  Gospels 
only,  —  he  wrote  notliing,  2. 

Matthew,  his  mental  character,  77 ; 
the  term  "  Nazarene,"  77. 

Messiah,  the,  promises  and  expectations 
of,  14;  the  popular  expectations, — 
the  real  design  of  Jesus,  172  ;  the  an- 
nunciation of  a  suffering  Messiah, 
174  J  the  kingdom  of,  when  at  hand, 
414. 

Miracles,  their  rejection  leads  to  Panthe- 
ism, 9  ;  their  character  and  credibility, 
19 ;  angelic  manifestations  and  the 
Hebrews,  19  ;  relation  to  a  higher  law 
of  nature,  15S;  deeper  moral  signifi- 
cance toward  tlie  close  of  Christ's  life, 
176;  the  wedding  at  Cana,  188;  at 
Capernaum,  197  ;  healing  the  noble- 
man's son,  254  ;  the  impotent  man, 
266  ;  tlie  paralytic  man,  276  ;  the  man 
with  an  unclean  devil,  283  ;  healing 
of  Peter's  motlier-in  law,  284  ;  healing 
at  the  city  gate,  284 ;  healing  the  leper, 
289  ;  the  paralytic  man,  292  ;  miracu- 
lous draught  of  fishes,  297  ;  the  hu- 
manity of  Christ's  miracles,  302 ;  the 
centurion's  servant,  364;  resurrection 
of  the  widow's  son,  367;  unfriendly 
popular  criticism,  378. 

Moral  Beliefs  and  Convictions,  the  source 
of,  331. 

Moral  Teaching,  its  nature,  423. 

Mosaic  Institutes,  171  ;  their  interpreta- 
tion, 171  ;  Christ's  relations  toward 
them,  177  ;  he  never  disregarded  them, 
290;  their  humanity  toward  the  poor, 
375. 

Mother  and  Brethren,  his  disciples  are  such 
to  him,  394. 

Murder,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  335. 

Myths,  the  theory  of,  refuted,  425. 

Nativity,  differences  as  to  its  date,  31. 

Natdre  of  Jesl's,  philosophical  views 
of  the  Church,  44  ;  humanitarian  and 
rationalistic  school  and  its  tendency, 
44  ;  compromise  views  are  unsatisfac- 
tory, 45  ;  church  doctrine  of  a  double 
nature,  47  ;  its  services  to  Christianity, 


47  ;  more  philosophical  and  simpler 
views,  48 ;  theological  discussions  are 
mediaaval  or  modern,  48  ;  instances  of 
this,  48,  49  ;  ground  taken  by  the  au- 
thor, 50  ;  the  grand  results  of  the  in- 
carnation, 52. 

Nazareth,  its  bad  reputation,  60 ;  scen- 
ery, 60 ;  scene  of  attempt  to  kill  Jesus, 
261 ;  W.  H.  Dixon's  view  of  Naza- 
reth, 262 ;  fierceness  and  unbelief  of 
the  townsmen,  263. 

Nazarene,  a  term  of  reproach,  —  Mat- 
thew's statement  of  its  reference  to 
Jesus,  77. 

New  Life,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
Christ's  view  of  its  etliics,  334. 

NicoDEMus,  came  to  Jesus  "  by  night," 
215;  mistaken  view  of  his  courage, 
216;  how  proved  later,  217;  spiritual 
re-birth  explained  to  him,  218. 

Oaths,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  339. 

Oriental  Instruction  and  its  character,  213. 

Overture  of  Angels,  the,  11. 

Palestine,  populations  and  influence  of 
wars  therein,  160;  political  condition, 
172. 

Pantheism  is  atheism,  —  the  miracles,  9. 

Parables,  a  favorite  device  with  Jewish 
teachers,  296  ;  their  use  by  Jesus,  296 ; 
the  two  debtors,  370  ;  the  unclean 
spirit,  392 ;  the  eight  spoken  in  suc- 
cession, 400 ;  their  character  and  pur- 
pose, 400;  the  advantage  and  use  of 
parables,  401  ;  the  parable  of  the 
sower,  404,  421 ;  the  parable  of  the 
rich  man,  407 ;  the  servants  found 
waiting  for  their  lord,  408 ;  Peter'a 
questions  as  to  whom  the  parables  re- 
ferred, 408  ;  parable  of  tlie  unfaithful 
servant,  409 ;  tlic  rigorous  creditor, 
411;  parable  of  the  fig-tree,  412  ;  par- 
ables as  used  by  Jesus,  426  ;  tlie  grain 
of  mustard-seed,  429 ;  tlie  kingdom  of 
heaven  like  unto  leaven,, 429;  unto  a 
net,  429  ;  the  good  seed  and  the  tares, 
430;  the  treasure  hid  in  a  field,  431 ; 
the  pearl  of  great  price,  431. 

Passover.     See  Feasts. 


508 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


Paul,  why  called  a  tent-maker,  296. 

Peace  on  earth  only  reached  by  con- 
flict, 414. 

Pentecost,     See  Feasts. 

Personal  Appearance  of  Jesus,  the 
difficulty  of  approaching  the  Jewish 
life  in  the  time  of  Christ,  134;  the 
exalted  idea  of  Jesus  and  his  Divinity 
give  an  ideal  color  to  his  person  and 
appearance,  135  ;  the  impressions 
which  he  made  upon  his  disciples  and 
countrymen,  136 ;  to  them  he  was 
simply  a  citizen,  and  so  to  his  dis- 
ciples until  after  the  resurrection,  136 ; 
a  conversation  combined  from  the 
Gospels  on  this  point,  136;  there  is 
nothing  to  determine  the  personal  ap- 
pearance of  Jesus,  137  ;  the  great  men 
of  Greece  and  Rome  were  commemo- 
rated in  art,  137  ;  the  disciples  were 
neither  literary  nor  artistic  men,  —  the 
Jew  was  forbidden  to  make  any  image 
or  likeness  of  Divinity,  133 ;  the  early 
Fathers  differed  as  to  his  comeliness, 
—  they  appealed  to  the  prophecies 
concerning  the  Messiah,  139;  the  typ- 
ical head  of  Christ,  141 ;  the  fictitious 
letter  of  Publius  Lentulus,  140;  por- 
traits began  to  appear  in  the  fourth 
century,  140 ,  they  were  by  Greek 
artists,  141 ;  their  ideal  characteristics, 
142;  the  Reman  type,  142;  the  Italian 
masters,  142;  the  Christ  of  Michael 
Angelo,  and  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci, 
143  ;  the  effect  of  pictures  of  Jesus 
upon  religion,  144;  the  grander  He- 
brew example,  144;  there  are  glimp- 
ses of  Jesus's  personal  bearing,  144; 
every  system  of  philosophy  or  religion 
except  Christianity  can  be  received 
without  knowledge  of  its  founder's 
person,  144;  the  genius  of  Christiani- 
ty requires  a  distinct  conception  of 
Christ's  personality,  145. 

Pharisees,  their  history  and  religious 
tendencies,  163;  extract  from  DoL- 
LiNGER  on  the  Pharisees,  163  ;  arraign- 
ment of  Jesus  for  Sabbath-breaking, 


and  the  motive,  269  ;  their  accusations 
of  Jesus,  384  ;  he  charges  them  with 
blasphemy,  386 ;  rebuked  by  Jesus  at 
the  Pharisee's  house,  397 ;  their  meth- 
od of  seeking  to  destroy  him,  401  ; 
their  popularity,  403 ;  their  spiritual 
blindness,  411.     See  also  Temple. 

Pilate,  slaughter  of  the  Galileans,  413. 

Political  Tests  of  Jesus  by  the  Scribes,  402. 

Poor,  humanity  of  the  Mosaic  institutes 
toward,  375. 

Praijer,  the  Lord's,  342. 

Priests,  limited  sphere  and  influence  of, 
86. 

Prophets,  the  prophetic  nature,  84 ; 
prophets  among  the  Jews,  86  ;  inde- 
pendence of  ceremonial  usages,  89 ; 
examples  of  particular  prophets,  91 ; 
higliest  moods  of  inspiration,  121 ; 
symbolization  employed  by  the  pro- 
phetic state,  122;  attempted  interpre- 
tation to  modern  equivalents,  123. 

Proverbs,  the  Book  of,  influence  upon 
Christ's  discourses,  69. 

Raising  of  the  Dead,  the  three  instances, 
374. 

Rationalism.  See  Nature  of  Jesus. 

Renan,  M.,  on  the  character  of  Christ, 
10;  on  his  sovereignty  of  spirit,  276. 

Repentance,  its  true  meaning  and  spirit, 
111. 

Retaliation,  —  Revenge,  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  339. 

RocHETTE,  Raodl,  Iccturcs  on  ancient 
art,  125. 

Romans,  Christian  converts  among  the, 
364. 

Sabbath,  Jewish  laws  and  observances, 
267  ;  the  conflict  with  the  Sanhedrim, 
269  ;  the  plucking  of  ears  of  grain, 
273  ;  healing  the  paralytic,  276  ;  real 
significance  of  the  controversy,  278; 
the  Sabbath  made  for  man,  279. 

Sacrifices,  89. 

Sadducees,  their  doctrines  and  relations 
toward  the  people,  1 68. 

St.  Augustine  on  the  four  Evangel- 
ists, 5. 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


509 


Samaria,  its  population,  160;  history 
and  inhabitants,  235  ;  enmity  with  the 
Jews,  235  ;  cordial  reception  of  truth 
and  hospitality,  253. 

Sanhedrim,  questions  John,  the  forerun- 
ner of  Jesus,  103.     See  also  Sabbath, 

Satan,  meditxjval  art  representations  of 
evil  spirits,  125;  they  have  corrupted 
the  popular  ideas  to  this  day,  126;  the 
Devil  pictured  by  the  monks  is  de- 
grading to  the  narrative,  126  ;  a  true 
conception  of  tlie  Evil  One,  126. 

Saviour,  Hebrew  forms  of  the  name, 
105. 

Scribes  and  Pharisees.     See  Pharisees. 

Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  Beatitudes, 
Mount  Hattin,  the  scene  of  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount,  305  ;  extract  from 
Stanley's  Sinai,  306 ;  tiie  various  ac- 
counts of  the  sermon,  307  ;  contrast 
between  the  sermon  and  the  giving  of 
the  law  from  Sinai,  309  ;  character 
and  purpose  of  the  sermon,  309 ; 
"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,"  316  ; 
"Blessed  arc  they  that  mourn,"  317  ; 
"  Blessed  are  the  meek,"  318  ;  "  Bless- 
ed are  they  who  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness,"  320  ;  "  Blessed 
are  the  merciful,"  321 ;  "  Blessed  are 
the  pure  in  heart,"  322 ;  "  Blessed  are 
the  peacemakers,"  323;  "Blessed  are 
tliey  who  are  persecuted  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,"  325  ;  the  sermon  Jesus's 
view  of  the  spiritual  ethics  of  the  new 
life,  334  ;  wiiere  it  contested  the  popu- 
lar interpretation  of  the  law,  335 ; 
murder,  335 ;  adultery,  337 ;  divorce, 
337  ;  oaths,  339  ;  retaliation,  339 ; 
disinterested  benevolence,  341 ;  alms- 
giving, 342  ;  prayer,  —  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  342 ;  fasting,  350 ;  the  pur- 
suit of  wealth,  351 ;  general  consider- 
ations upon  the  sermon,  353. 

Shechem,  the  vale  of,  and  its  beauties, 
231  ;  connection  with  great  events  of 
Jewish  his'ory,  233. 

Simeon,  the  prophetic  rapture  of,  34. 

Son  of  David,  is  not  this  the,  391. 


Son  of  Man,  significance  of  the  name, 
183  ;  by  it  Christ  emphasized  his  mis- 
sion, 183. 

Son  of  God,  Jesus  assumes  the  title,  271. 

Sonf/,  the,  of  Mary,  23  of  Hannah,  24  ; 
of  Zacharias,  26 ;  of  the  pilgrims  to 
Jerusalem,  70. 

Stanley,  on  the  Mount  of  the  Beati- 
tudes, 306. 

Star  in  the  East,  the,  36. 

Susanna,  one  of  Christ's  attendants, 
383. 

Sijnagorjiies,  order  of  service  in  the,  257. 

Tabernacles.     See  Eeasts. 

Teachings  of  Christ,  his  methods  of, 
296. 

Temperance  reformers,  and  the  wedding 
at  Cana,  190  ;  wine  and  alcohols  con- 
sidered, 191 ;  conclusions  from  Christ's 
example,  193. 

Temple,  the,  at  Jerusalem,  203 ;  traffick- 
ing in, —extent  and  reason  of  it, 
207. 

Tesiptations  of  Christ  in  the  wil- 
derness, the  three  narratives,  by  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  and  Luke,  115;  place  of 
the  temptations,  —  erroneously  sup- 
posed to  be  the  mountains  of  Moab,  — 
was  one  called  Quarantania,  of  the 
line  of  mountains  westward  of  Jericho, 
115;  accordance  of  these  events  with 
the  elder  Hebrew  nature,  116;  light 
afforded  by  the  visions  of  Ezckiel, 
117  ;  the  forty  days'  fasting  a  private 
struggle  and  protection,  117;  the  si- 
lence of  Jesus  upon  the  subject,  117; 
his  struggles  with  the  powers  of  the 
invisible  world,  and  his  victory,  118; 
the  belief  of  his  disciples,  —  the  teach- 
ing of  the  apostles  and  the  faith  of  the 
Christian  Church  agree  as  to  their 
reality,  118;  the  inspiration  of  com- 
fort from  his  victory  over  the  utmost 
that  Satan  could  attempt,  119;  the 
nature  of  prophetic  inspiration,  121; 
the  mystery  of  his  pure  being,  124; 
his  trials  and  persecutions  and  con- 
sciousness of  power,   124;    the  first 


510 


ANALYTICAL  INDEX. 


temptation,  "  command  that  these 
stones  be  made  bread,"  125 ;  Satan, 
mcdiajval  and  modern  representations 
of  evil  spiiits,  125;  Rocliette's  lec- 
tures on  ancient  art,  125;  the  popular 
idea  of  Satan  to  this  day,  126  ;  a  true 
conception  of  the  Evil  One,  126  ;  the 
propiietic  symbolism  of  the  lirst  tempta- 
tion, 127  ;  the  second  temptation,  "cast 
thyself  down  from  hence,"  129;  its 
appeal  to  tlie  love  of  pi-aise  and  the 
principle  of  admiration  in  the  multi- 
tude, 129;  the  third  temptation,  the 
mountain-top,  —  its  tremendous  force, 
130  ;  considerations  of  tlie  theories  of 
the  temptations,  131 ;  the  objections 
to  tlie  literal  history, — why  the  the- 
ory of  a  symbolic  vision  is  preferable, 
132  ;  the  practical  benefit  of  this  pas- 
sage in  the  life  of  Jesus,  133. 

Thief,   the,   that  cometh  in  the  night, 
408. 

Thompson,  the  missionary,  on  caves  in 
Palestine,  29  ;  on  leprosy,  290. 

Twelve  Tribes.     Sec  Feasts. 

Unbelief  of  the  people's  leaders,  Christ's 
severity  towai-ds,  366. 

Van  de  Vklde,  on  Palestine  and  the 
vale  of  Shechcm,  231. 

Virgin,  deification  of  the,  by  art,  16. 

Watchinfj  for  the  Lord,  408. 

Water,  its  ceremonial  use,  223. 

Water  vessels  amoafc  the  Hebrews,  189. 


Wealth,  the  pursuit  of,  —  the  Sermon  on 

the  Mount,  351. 
Wedding,  the,  in  Cana, — uncertainty  as 
to  which  Cana,  1 84 ;  the  jjrescnce  of 
Jesus  and  its  significance,  184  ;  social 
and  joyous  habits  of  the  Jews,  184; 
the  scene  described,  1 85 ;  sobriety  of 
such   occasions,    185;    Ciirist's  geni- 
ality as  a  guest,  187;   the  wine  ex- 
hausted, 188;  the  first  miracle,  189; 
the  character  of  the  wine,  190;  Con- 
gregational Review    on   Rev.   W.    M. 
Thayer's  "  Communion  Wine,"  &c., 
190 ;    wine   and    alcohol    considered, 
191  ;  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from 
Christ's  example,  193. 
Weddings  among  the  Jews,  185. 
Wine.     See  Wedding  in  Cana. 
Woman,   Christ's  humanity  toward  the 

sinning,  249. 
WooLSEY,    President,    on   the  mother 

and  brethren  of  Jesus,  394. 
Zacharias,  the  priest,  and  his  wife 
Elizabeth,  11 ;  his  life  and  duties,  12; 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  appears  to  him, 
12;  the  promise  of  a  son,  13  ;  Zaehar 
rias  doubts  and  is  stricken  dumb,  13  ; 
their  hopes  of  a  Messiah,  14;  return 
to  the  "hill  country,"  14;  arrival  of 
Mary,  21  ;  the  birth  and  naming  of 
John,  25;  his  lips  were  unsealed, — 
his  song  of  thanksgiving,  26;  his 
prophecy  of  Jolm's  greatness,  27. 


END   OP   PAET  I. 


Cambridge :  Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co. 


TO    BOOKSELLERS 
AND   THE   PUBLIC. 

Following  tlieir  undeniable  right  to  conduct  their  own  business  in 
their  own  way,  provided  that  way  does  not  interfere  with  the  rights 
of  others,  the  Publishers  of  "The  Life  of  Jesus,  the  Christ"  wish  to 
say  a  few  words  concerning  the  mode  of  selling  it  which  they  have 
adopted.  They  have  chosen  the  "  subscription  method "  of  sale,  rather 
than  the  ordinary  channels  of  the  book  trade,  believing  that  their  own 
interests  will  be  promoted  by  larger  sales,  that  the  author's  designs  will 
be  better  accomplished  by  the  distribution  of  his  work  into  many  districts 
and  families  which  it  would  not  otherwise  reach,  and  that,  on  the  whole, 
those  of  the  reading  public  who  want  the  book  will  be  more  conveniently 
served  if  canvassers  bring  it  to  them,  than  if  it  were  sent  to  stand  upon 
the  shelves  of  bookstores  till  sought  for. 

It  has  been  largely  the  custom  among  booksellers  to  get  supplies  of 
subscription  books  and  keep  them  for  sale,  despite  the  wishes  and  efforts 
of  the  publishers.  Not  expecting  to  arrest  this  altogether,  the  Pub- 
lishers of  the  present  work  propose  to  frankly  appeal  to  booksellers,  as  a 
matter  of  common  courtesy,  to  refrain  from  interference  with  a  business 
which,  taking  nothing  from  them,  really  does  not  touch  their  interests, 
and  which  the  Publishers  naturally  wish  to  conduct  to  suit  their  own 
convenience. 

Ordinarily,  such  a  request  would  doubtless  be  enough ;  but  the  custom 
of  indirectly  dealing  in  subscription  books  has  been  so  generally  followed, 
and  by  so  many  booksellers  of  recognized  integrity  and  high  standing, 
that  it  seems  worth  while  trying  to  show  them  that  both  honor  and 
honesty  are  violated  by  it,  as  well  as  mere  courtesy. 

Each  agent  who  undertakes  to  sell  this  book  is  given  a  certain  district 
of  territory,  within  which  he  has  guaranteed  to  him  an  exclusive  control 


2  TO   BOOKSELLERS   AND   THE   PUBLIC. 

of  the  sales,  to  the  best  of  the  Publishers'  ability ;  in  return  for  -which  he 
pledges  his  honor  and  his  name,  by  contract,  not  to  injure  the  sales  of 
other  agents  by  selling  either  outside  his  own  territory  or  to  booksellers, 
who  would,  of  course,  reach  customers  out  of  his  district.  All  honest 
agents  fulfil  their  pledge ;  while  dishonest  agents  do  not  scruple  to  lie,  by 
false  orders  "  for  subscribers,"  and  to  injure  the  livelihood  of  honorable 
men  by  selling  the  goods,  thus  obtained  under  false  pretences,  to  such 
booksellers  as  are  willing  to  receive  them. 

It  is  not  likely  that  booksellers  have  considered  this  element  of  dis- 
honorable dealing  and  continued  injury  to  the  business  of  others,  when 
encom'aging  agents  to  supply  them  with  books  obtained  by  direct  falsity 
and  breach  of  contract.  It  has  been  thought  a  rather  good  joke  on  sub- 
scription publishers  ;  and  it  is,  — just  as  smuggling  is  a  good  joke  on  the 
government.  But,  knowing  full  well  how  thoughtlessly  this  custom  has 
grown  up,  the  Publishers  of  this  work  desire  courteously  but  plainly  to 
put  before  all  booksellers  the  true  character  of  this  very  common  trans- 
action; for,  having  had  many  dealings  with  "the  trade,"  and  knowing 
it  to  be  conducted  by  men  of  honor  and  principle,  they  believe  that, 
with  this  clear  understanding  of  the  case,  booksellers  will  not  encourage 
rascals  who  may  thus  be  in  position  to  violate  the  confidence  of  those 
who  fairly  employ  them. 

If  the  desire  of  the  bookseller  is  to  accommodate  customers  (rather 
than  to  enforce  a  profit  from  every  book  published,  whether  his  services 
are  solicited  for  it  or  not),  he  may  refer  the  customer  to  the  Publishers, 
and  their  Local  Agent  shall  be  sent  to  supply  the  demand.  Everything 
will  cordially  be  done,  that  can  be  done,  to  obviate  the  inconvenience 
of  not  having  the  book  upon  their  shelves,  for  booksellers  who  grant 
to  the  Publishers  the  common  right  of  managing  their  own  affairs  in 
their  own  way. 

J.  B.  FORD  &  CO., 

Publishers. 


BS2420.B414V.1 

The  life  of  Jesus  the  Christ ...  [Vol. 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00073  1614 


